Lyon Stun Holders Barcelona To Claim Record Eighth Women’s Champions League Title

SportsMoney Lyon Stun Holders Barcelona To Claim Record Eighth Women’s Champions League Title Asif Burhan Contributor Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. I am a freelance journalist from England covering women’s soccer around the world since 2011. May 21, 2022, 05:30pm EDT | Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin TURIN, ITALY – MAY 21: Wendie Renard of Olympique Lyonnais lifts the UEFA Women’s Champions League … [+] trophy after their sides victory during the UEFA Women’s Champions League final match between FC Barcelona and Olympique Lyonnais at Juventus Stadium on May 21, 2022 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Catherine Ivill – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images) UEFA via Getty Images Olympique Lyonnais reclaimed their Women’s Champions League title defeating the defending champions FC Barcelona, who had previously swept all before them throughout the season only to fall short against the team they have still never beaten. Over the course of two seasons, Barcelona only three defeats had come in inconsequential matches as they steamrollered their way through the Spanish league championship and Champions League demolishing the English champions Chelsea 4-0 in last year’s final. However, they had never defeated Lyon, who had hammered them 4-1 in their previous meeting in the competition in the 2019 final. That had been Barcelona’s first final against the-then dominant force in European club football. Now, following five straight victories in the competition, Lyon had been deposed by Barcelona last season and the style with which the Catalan side had overcome all challengers in this campaign, with a free-flowing passing style against which opponents seemed to have no answer, encouraged many to believe, it was they, not Lyon were now the superpower in the women’s game. After setting world record attendances at their Camp Nou home in their two previous UEFA Champions League round, at least 13,000 fans from Barcelona traveled from Spain to northern Italy to attend the match, an unprecedented movement of women’s soccer fans to watch a club match. This compared to the 3,500 ticket holders from France in a crowd of 32,257. TURIN, ITALY – MAY 21: FC Barcelona fans show their support during the UEFA Women’s Champions League … [+] final match between FC Barcelona and Olympique Lyonnais at Juventus Stadium on May 21, 2022 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Maja Hitij/Getty Images) Getty Images MORE FOR YOU WWE Extreme Rules 2021 Results: Winners, News And Notes As Roman Reigns Beats The Demon The World’s Highest-Paid Soccer Players 2021: Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo Reclaims Top Spot From PSG’s Lionel Messi The Good, Bad And Ugly From The Green Bay Packers’ Win Over The San Francisco 49ers Yet when the two finally came face-to-face in today’s much-anticipated final, Lyon seemed to have lost nothing from the side who scored four goals in 30 minutes against Barcelona in the 2019 final, once again winning the game in a devastating first-half spell to lead 3-0 before Barcelona’s World Player of the Year, Alexia Putellas pulled one goal back just before the break. There were no further goals in the second half as Lyon held out to claim back their European title and become European Champions for an incredible eighth time in twelve seasons. Captain Wendie Renard, who had become the first soccer player in history to play in ten European Cup finals, lifted the trophy for a record eighth time. TURIN, ITALY, MAY 21: Ada Hegerberg, of Olympique Lyonnais, celebrates after scoring during the … [+] Women Champions League football match between Barcelona and Olympique Lyonnais at Juventus Stadium in Turin, Italy, on May 21, 2022. (Photo by Isabella Bonotto/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Lyon’s decisive second goal was scored by the competition’s all-time record goalscorer Ada Hegerberg, who had also scored a hat-trick against FC Barcelona in 2019. Her 59th goal in the competition, a far-post header in the 23rd minute, meant she has now scored in four different European Cup finals, a feat last achieved by the great Alfredo Di Stefano who scored in five successive finals for Real Madrid between 1956 and 1960. United States’ international Catarina Macario added the third in the 33rd minute to become the first woman from her country to score in a UEFA EFA Women’s Champions League final. Together with team-mate Lindsay Horan, Macario became only the fourth and fifth United States Women’s National Team players to become Champions League winners after Ali Krieger and Gina Lewandowski, playing for 1. FFC Frankfurt in 2008 and Alex Morgan, playing for Lyon in 2017. TURIN, ITALY – MAY 21: Lindsey Horan and Catarina Macario of Olympique Lyon celebrate with the UEFA … [+] Women’s Champions League Trophy following their team’s victory in the UEFA Women’s Champions League final match between FC Barcelona and Olympique Lyonnais at Juventus Stadium on May 21, 2022 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Harriet Lander/Copa/Getty Images) Getty Images Lyon’s coach Sonia Bompastor also made history as the first female coach to lead her side to victory in the competition since Martina Voss-Tecklenburg led Duisburg to the title in 2009. As captain of the first two winning Lyon sides in 2011 and 2012, Bompastor will also go down as the first woman to play in and coach a UEFA Women’s Champions League winning side. Before the game, Bompastor was insistent that her side could impose themselves on Barcelona while maintaining “a magician never reveals their tricks”. Afterwards she admitted that “my team talk was very easy. This is the most beautiful match and beautiful competition a club can dream of playing. From the start, the idea was to put pressure on them and force them to defend with a high block.” TURIN, ITALY – MAY 21: Sonia Bompastor, Head Coach of Olympique Lyonnais celebrates with the UEFA … [+] Women’s Champions League trophy following victory in the UEFA Women’s Champions League final match between FC Barcelona and Olympique Lyonnais at Juventus Stadium on May 21, 2022 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Maja Hitij/Getty Images) Getty Images On Hegerberg, Bompastor said “Ada is one of the leaders of the group. She is a powerhouse, she is exemplary. She’s very professional, be that on but also off the pitch. I am delighted for her because as you know, she went through a very tough time with her injury.” “She came back with a level that allowed her to gain her confidence back but she really needed to work very hard to get to where she is tonight. This evening she scored a goal, she also showed she was a leader and she led against this Barcelona team. I am delighted for her, for myself and the club that she’s back to her best.” Follow me on Twitter . Check out my website . Asif Burhan Editorial Standards Print Reprints & Permissions