The Game of Thrones resounded in Bilbao. Where one loses, and the other wins. As simple as it is voracious. In Bilbao two dynasties faced each other, and crowns were exchanged. In Bilbao, Barcelona defeated its nightmare and eternal rival, the all-powerful and award-winning Olympique Lyonnais, for the first time. And they did it no less than in the Champions League final 2-0 – by Aitana Bonmatí and Alexia Putellas – in a truly physical and even duel, with two squads full of stars.
2
Cata Coll, Ingrid Engen, Irene Paredes, Fridolina Rolfö, Lucy Bronze, Keira Walsh, Patri Guijarro, Aitana Bonmatí, Salma Paralluelo, Caroline Graham Hansen and Mariona Caldentey
0
Christiane Endler, Vanessa Gilles, Wendie Renard, Ellie Carpenter, Selma Bacha, Lindsey Horan, Daniëlle van de Donk, Damaris Egurrola, Kadidiatou Diani, Delphine Cascarino and Melchie Dumornay
Goals 1-0 min. 62: Aitana Bonmatí. 2-0 min. 95: Alexia Putellas.
Referee Rebecca Welch
Yellow cards Wendie Renard (min. 69), Alexia Putellas (min. 96) and Christiane Endler (min. 97)
It was the perfect revenge, and perhaps, the first stone of the change of hegemonic cycle in Europe. The French maintain their eight continental titles and the Blaugrana added their third. The defeats in the 2019 and 2022 finals were left behind, and so were the ghosts. Tyranny was left behind. Lyon was Lyon. But Barcelona is no longer that young Barcelona. And they were the champions again: they arrived with the crown on, and they left with it.
They had an advantage: the absence of Ada Hegerberg, the personification of Barcelona’s fears, in the starting eleven, the same one with which they beat PSG in the French league. In the two previous finals, four of Lyon’s seven goals came from the Norwegian. This season, he has only played 14 minutes since March 9 due to injury. But with Captain Renard, the tyranny of terror was assured. Meanwhile, Jonatan Giráldez chose to leave Alexia Putellas on the bench and also Batlle, deciding on Guijarro – he scored two goals in last year’s final -, Rolfö and the experience of Lucy Bronze, former Lyon footballer. The football merits of the French women, however, have not been able to translate them into social impact. Unlike Barça. In San Mamés, the Barça tide—more than 35,000 culés—flooded the stands and broke the record for maximum attendance in a Women’s Champions League final with 50,827 fans.
The smoke from the fire from the opening ceremony was still in the air when the game began, and the tension on the pitch. Lyon surprised with a more combinative attack. When the French approached they did so with more accuracy than the culés, with hits from Cascarino or Renard. A danger for Cata Coll that only she, and luck—she hit the woodwork twice, on one occasion from the French—could avoid. But Barça was no longer the same as it was a few years ago. The blaugranas managed to save themselves from goals during the first half. It was the first step. And the second, mark them. Graham Hansen shone, like never before, and as always, easily beating Bacha. And Aitana joined her favorite dance partner. The Norwegian and Rolfö took turns with the aerial crosses that Paralluelo—uncomfortable—could not take advantage of, and that Renard and Gilles read perfectly.
Barcelona needed to swing faster. Not only the good recoveries of Walsh, Patri and Bronze were worth it, dedicated to throwing the ball out of danger when the French progressed. Renard did not hide his discontent, and reproached his colleagues for every mistake. Rolfö hit the ground after slipping on a Barcelona opportunity. They were close to the goal, but very far from the shot.
So Aitana appeared after a pass from Mariona – brilliant with and without the ball throughout the game – to score the goal in an overwhelming individual performance. But that ball entering the goal was more than that. It was the definitive coronation of Barça. The pace did not slow down in the final minutes, with Lyon convinced to force extra time and Barça determined to avoid it. A bad fall by Cata worried about his continuity, and a blow left Ona Batlle bleeding. But both did not want to give up. The duel was no longer just physical. The final was above that. Of everything.
And Alexia, when it seemed that there was no time, that the clock had already made them practically champions, she wanted more. He came on in injury time and scored in the 95th minute. He took off his shirt and bowed to the crowd. Alexia, the captain recently renewed for two more seasons amidst doubts and noise, was once again the Queen. She made it clear who had the crown. And although Lyon came close to taking it away, Putellas grabbed the cup. Barça fires Giráldez with a poker of titles. All stories have an ending. And where Lyon’s ends, Barça’s begins. There is a new reign in Europe.
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