Barcelona seals quadruple after beating eight-time winners Lyon to retain the Women’s Champions League trophy.
Barcelona won their third UEFA Women’s Champions League title thanks to a 2-0 win over Lyon at San Mamés Stadium in Bilbao on Saturday. Second-half goals from Aitana Bonmatí and Alexia Putellas in front of over 50,000 supporters secured their third Champions League title in four years.
Barcelona already have won the Spanish Super Cup, Liga F, and Copa de la Reina this season. This is the first time that the club has won the quadruple. Barcelona manager Jonatan Giraldez will leave the team at the end of the season. The 32-year-old coach won ten of the 11 trophies available since he took over in 2021.
Lyon or Barcelona have been crowned European champions in the last nine seasons, but it was Barca’s first win against the French side. Lyon had defeated Barcelona in all four previous matches between the teams, including the 2019 and 2022 finals.
It was also Sonia Bompastor’s last match as Lyon’s manager as she is set to replace Emma Hayes at Chelsea.
Barcelona vs Lyon: Champions League Final Play-by-Play
Lyon came close to scoring in the 14th minute after Bacha’s cross from the right came off the head of Bronze before hitting the crossbar. Barcelona players failed to clear the ball drops to Lyon captain Wendie Renard at the back post. Her shot also hit the post, but the referee blew for a foul.
Barcelona’s best chance came in the 28th minute, when Lyon player Selma Bacha cleared the ball on the line. Caldentey skips through a couple of challenges, but the keeper saves her effort. However, the ball took a deflection after hitting Horan and almost went into the goal, but Bacha cleared it on the line.
Lyon captain Wendie Renard had a decent opportunity to score from a corner in the 39th minute, but her header failed to truly test the Barcelona goalkeeper Cata Coll.
A tightly and entertaining first half finished Goalless in Bilbao. Barcelona dominated possession in that first half, but Lyon handled their dangerous players well and both teams had chances to go ahead.
Second Half Report
Rolfo was causing problems for Lyon down the left side and crossed the ball into a dangerous area in the 60th minute. However, both Paralluelo and Hansen failed to head it well and Bacha cleared the danger.
Holders Barcelona finally managed to break the deadlock through the Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmati in the 63rd minute. Barca won the ball after Ellie Carpenter was caught out on the ball. The ball reached Bonmati on the edge of the box and her strike took a deflection off Lyon’s Vanessa Gilles past keeper Christiane Endler.
Graham Hansen could score the second goal for Barca in the 75th minute after making a lengthy run into the box, but Bacha denied her with a timely tackle. Kadidiatou Diani came close to scoring for Lyon after Carpenter sent in an excellent ball. However, Cata Coll was on alert and did not Diani’s effort go into the corner of the net.
The competition’s all-time record goalscorer Ada Hegerberg was only fit enough to play in the last 10 minutes. Hegerberg missed a great chance from Bacha’s cross in the 88th minute after her header was not powerful enough to trouble Coll.
Barcelona star Alexia Putellas seals the win for her team just three minutes after replacing Keira Walsh. Barcelona’s record goalscorer doubled their lead in the 96th minute. Batlle sent the ball to Pina on the left. Pina gave it to Putellas into the box, and she sent it high into the roof of the net.
