It will be the third sequel to the iconic clash between two giants of Europe when Barcelona and Olympique Lyonnais face off in the UEFA Women’s Champions League final in Oslo on Saturday.
While it will be the sixth consecutive Champions League final for the Spanish champions, who will be eager to avenge their defeat to Arsenal last time, the French heavyweights will look to add their ninth European crown, having already ended Arsenal’s title defence in a second-leg comeback win in the semifinal.
As big as this game is in its scope, there are subplots that make the clash at the Ullevaal Stadion more electrifying. A crucial one is the fact that Spanish coach Jonatan Giráldez will be on the sidelines for Lyonnais this time, having managed the Catalans to their last Champions League title when the two teams had last met in the final of the competition.
“I’m really happy to have been fortunate enough to lead this marvellous group of players. Now, two years down the line I’ve got a chance to face them. Obviously, it’ll be a challenge and I’m aware of the difficulties that come with facing them,” Giráldez said during a UEFA interaction. “Then there’s the nostalgia factor – the nostalgia of what I experienced at Barcelona.”
He spent six years with the Barcelona women’s team till 2024 and joined the French club last year, with former assistant Pere Romeu now in charge at the Spanish club.
With Aitana Bonmatí returning fully fit at a crucial stage and Ewa Pajor arriving in Norway as the tournament’s joint-top scorer, Giráldez is aware of Barcelona’s high pressing game, ability to find spaces and width in attack, and collective ambition to win a fourth Champions League.
“It’s going to be a big challenge, I think, all over the pitch, and my main role will be defensively against their top players,” Lyonnais’ Norwegian defender Ingrid Engen said during a virtual interaction. “So, it’ll need to be a perfect game, and I’ll need to be as prepared as possible for that challenge. I’ve talked about that. I know them well, but I also know it’s very hard to stop them.”
Lyonnais midfielder Damaris Egurrola stressed the importance of midfield in determining the day’s outcome. “It’s going to be very interesting. They also have been playing together for a long time, so they make a lot of easy passes, just know where they’re gonna find that player,” Egurrola said. “But I think we have also our potential to just keep the position, and I know we’re capable of doing that. So, I think it’ll be key in this final to dominate the midfield, for sure.”
The Wendy Renard-led French team has won five of their six Champions League matches this season and, under Giráldez, the ‘Les Fenottes’ have combined aggressive pressing with positional control, making them difficult to contain.
In another subplot, it will be a homecoming for the Norwegian players in both teams – star Ada Hegerberg and Engen for Lyonnais, and Barcelona’s Caroline Graham Hansen. “We are so happy to be able to play a final in our country and in a stadium where we are so familiar. I will have a lot of friends and family there, so it will definitely be a very special occasion,” said Engen.
Only Saturday will reveal which team gets to make the occasion more special than the other.
