UEFA Women’s Champions League Final: Barcelona vs. OL Lyonnes | OneFootball

Barcelona’s Road to the Final

League Phase

Barcelona’s journey to the final started 366 days ago, in Lisbon, where they lost 1-0 to Arsenal.  That was Barcelona manager Pere Romeu’s first Champions League final. Romeu and his team sought to put things right by thrashing Bayern Munich 7-1 on matchday one. Matchdays two and three showcased squad depth and flexibility as Roma and Leuven were beaten. The Catalans would face some resistance on matchday four. Chelsea at Stamford Bridge has proved difficult to beat, so when Barcelona came out with a 1-1, all parties were satisfied. Barcelona finished the group stage in first by defeating Benfica and Paris FC, while giving minutes to the next generation. Five wins, one draw and eighteen points could only be matched by… OL Lyonnes.

Knockout Stage

Going into the quarter-final, Barça were the overwhelming favourites against their El Clásico rivals, Real Madrid. Alexia Putellas, Ewa Pajor & co put twelve goals past the Madrid defence over two legs.

Bayern Munich posed Barcelona several questions in the semi-finals, particularly in the last period of the second leg. Going into the last twenty minutes, Barcelona were up 5-2 on aggregate and comfortable, until Bayern picked up a loose pass, which Pernille Harder scored from. Only a couple of minutes later, Barça had again given the ball away; this time, they couldn’t take advantage. Seven minutes later, the backline was caught napping when a throughball was played down the wing, resulting in Arianna Caruso hitting the bar. Bayern were unfortunate not to score from the resulting corner when Edna Imade couldn’t find the target from yards out.

The first leg ended in a 1-1 draw as Bayern provided OL Lyonnes with a blueprint to stifle the Spanish side.  Playing on the counter and moving the ball into wide areas of the pitch seemed to be most fruitful.

OL Lyonnes Road to the Final

League Phase

OL and Jonatan Giráldez began the run to their twelfth Champions League final by beating the holders Arsenal 2-1 courtesy of Melchie Dumornay’s quickfire double. A week later, St. Pölten visited Lyon and left with nothing after losing 3-0. The French side scored three goals in the following three games, impressively beating Wolfsburg 3-1 and Manchester United 3-0. The only misstep came in Turin versus Juventus. Lyon found themselves three goals down at the end of the first half. By the end of the game, all was level as Wendie Renard converted her penalty in the 90th minute. Atlético Madrid were the final team in the League Phase to get nothing out of Lyon, going down 4-0.

Knockout Stage

Lyon went into the quarter-final versus Wolfsburg as favourites, so when Lineth Beerensteyn’s deflected shot wrongfooted Cristiane Endler, a disappointed Lyon would have to return home and overturn the 1-0 deficit. That is exactly what they did. The second leg ended 4-0, a touch flattering to Lyon. Lily Yohannes opened the scoring in the 16th to level the tie; the three remaining goals all came in extra time, just as Wolfsburg minds began to tire.

OL, once again, ran into Arsenal for the fifth time in a year. The first leg in London was an interesting affair. Jule Brand’s solo goal gave Lyon the lead in the 18th minute. Lyon struggled in the second half as Arsenal seized the game, with Lyon’s error in playing out from the back leading to two Arsenal goals. 

Lyon started the second leg quickly. Lindsey Heaps had the ball in the net from a corner after seven minutes, but the goal was ruled out for light pushing in the box. Eight minutes later, Durmornay was brought down by Lotte Wubben-Moy in the box. Daphne van Domselaar initially saved Renard’s penalty; the keeper, however, stepped in front of the line before Renard had struck the ball. The centre-back put the second penalty in the same place as van Domselaar dove the other way. The second goal came from a similar corner to the first, sent to the back post, where Kadidiatou Diani was to volley home. Alessio Russo snuck through the OL defence to pull the tie back to 3-3. Brand played the protagonist once again, latching onto Dumornay’s pass, clinically finishing the chance and tie.

Tactical Battle

Barcelona will likely possess more of the ball. Their high line allows the midfield and attack to press quickly and regain possession. Mapi León at left-centre back will provide Lyon with a tactical problem. León steps into midfield and essentially operates as a fourth midfielder alongside Patri Guijarro, Alexia Putellas and Clara Serrajordi or Aitana Bonmatí. If given too much time on the ball, the defender is capable of breaking lines with a pass or crossing for the forwards. 

In the semi-final versus Bayern, left-back Esmee Brugts took up a very central role, popping up in areas that you would expect of an attacking midfielder or centre forward. Brugts is an excellent long-distance shooter. When allowed to cut inside onto her right foot, Lyon may have a tough time trying to defend it. 

Jonatan Giráldez will manage against his former team for the first time. Giráldez laid much of the foundation that Barcelona use today, something that could be used to his advantage.

The Spaniard does like his teams to have the ball, but it is not the be-all and end-all. Against Arsenal, his side averaged 50% and 51%. One attribute that gives OL an advantage is physicality. The team is full of pace, height and power, in addition to their technical abilities. Lyon will look to use set-pieces, corners, in particular, to their advantage. The likes of Wendie Renard, Ingrid Engen and Ada Hegerberg will be the target of Selma Bacha’s crosses. Barcelona put in 88 crosses in the quarter and semi-finals, many of those coming from Caroline Graham Hansen’s right boot. OL Lyon is happy to deal with crosses, which may reduce Barcelona’s attacking power.

The Key Duel

The key duel in this game comes in the form of Graham Hansen (right winger) and Selma Bacha (left-back). Bacha is an attack-minded wingback who can either go down the wing and cross or tuck inside and overload the centre, enabling Jule Brand to attack the wings. Graham Hansen is arguably the best 1v1 player in the world, if she is given space, especially if Bacha is out of position, she will be able to find one of the four or five options that Barcelona usually commit to the attack.

Fun Fact: This will be the fourth Champions League final between the two sides.

The previous results:Lyon 4-1 Barcelona (18/19) BudapestBarcelona 1-3 Lyon (21/22) TurinBarcelona 2-0 Lyon (23/24) Bilbao