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| Ada Hegerberg of Olympique Lyon lifts the UEFA Women’s Champions League Trophy following her 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. |
Lyon has its trophy
back. The French club beat defending champion and favorite Barcelona 3-1 on
Saturday to earn a record-extending eighth Women’s Champions League trophy.
“We
felt a strength from all the team, I think everyone was motivated 200%,” said
player of the match Amandine Henry, who scored a stunning opening goal. “We had
said since the beginning of the season that we wanted to win this trophy back.
So we really wanted to make our mark on the field. And I think we did it more
through mental strength than physical.”
The final had it all: A contender for
goal of the season early on — and an effort that would have given it strong
competition had it gone in instead of hitting the woodwork — and a goal from
the league’s all-time leading goal-scorer in her comeback season.
But Barcelona went into
the final the favorite in Turin after one loss all season, and none
domestically. However, that could have been its downfall.
“I don’t want to give
an excuse. Our opponent had an amazing game and they deserved to win,”
Barcelona coach Jonatan Giráldez said.“The competitive rhythm of the season
doesn’t depend on us. What we can do is in each game try to have a high level
of competitiveness because that gets us ready for other games.”
Giráldez’s side
was also backed by a vociferous crowd. More than 35,000 tickets were sold for
the final and the small pocket of Lyon fans — waving Norwegian flags for their
star striker — were vastly outnumbered by their Barcelona counterparts.
“I felt
as if we were playing in our own stadium, the noise they were doing was
incredible. That’s why I feel so sad,” he added.
A fantastic solo effort got
Lyon rolling in the sixth minute. Henry slid into a tackle and swiftly got up
to collect the ball, cut inside, and curl a 30-yard shot into the top right
corner. Just when Barcelona looked in charge, Lyon scored again after Selma
Bacha worked her way down the left flank and crossed in for the unmarked Ada
Hegerberg to head in a record-extending 59th goal in 60 league matches. It was
a fitting way for Hegerberg to crown her comeback season.
The Norwegian
returned in October after almost two years on the sidelines with injuries. Lyon
was running rampant against a shellshocked Barcelona — which had won all of its
matches in the Spanish league — and stretched its lead still further in the
33rd.
The Barcelona defence made a mess of clearing the ball in its own box and
Hegerberg rolled it across to Catarina Macario for the easiest of shots. Just
before halftime, Barcelona captain and Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas put
them on the board to rekindle hope. Patricia Guijarro almost scored a
spectacular goal in the 58th when she spotted Lyon goalkeeper Christiane Endler
off her line, but the audacious lob from just inside the Lyon half came off the
crossbar. The post was also hit by Hegerberg deep in stoppage time.
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