Women's Champions League final report: Barcelona 2-0 Lyon

Second-half strikes from Aitana Bonmatí and Alexia Putellas won Barcelona their third UEFA Women's Champions League title in four years as they beat Lyon 2-0 in front of over 50,000 supporters at San Mamés Stadium in Bilbao.

Match in brief: Barça finally beat Lyon to retain trophy

Aitana Bonmatí was the hero for Barcelona once againGetty Images

Prior to this encounter, Lyon had defeated Barcelona in all four previous matches between the teams, including the 2019 and 2022 finals.

But it was a case of fifth time lucky for Jonatan Giráldez's team as the holders asserted their recent dominance in this competition with an assured performance on Spanish soil, spearheaded by the brilliant Bonmatí, who once again proved to be the difference-maker.

It was Barça who started on the front foot, and Caroline Graham Hansen set up Salma Paralluelo early on following a mazy run, only for the Spanish forward's effort to be well saved by Lyon goalkeeper Christiane Endler.

Despite Giráldez's team enjoying the majority of possession, OL remained a threat, and Barça defender Lucy Bronze was fortunate to see her header skim off her own crossbar from a corner.

Just before the interval, Graham Hansen did brilliantly to burst into the box, but she could only drag a shot just wide from a tight angle to ensure there would be no first-half breakthrough as a tight, evenly matched period ended level.

Lyon captain Wendie Renard, playing in her 11th Women's Champions League final, had the first clear chance after the break, though she could only scoop her shot over the bar after the ball had fallen kindly for her in the box.

It was a case of cometh the hour, cometh the hero for Barcelona, as Mariona Caldentey's clever pass set away Bonmatí down the left in the 63rd minute, and the No14's dinked effort beat Endler via a deflection to spark delirium among the majority of the crowd.

Lyon pushed for a response, and the competition's top scorer for this season, Kadidiatou Diani, went close with a curling effort narrowly over the bar.

In the closing stages, however, substitute Putellas put the gloss on the victory with a wonderful crashing finish, and Barça celebrated joyously with their outgoing coach Giráldez as they earned a fourth trophy in what has been another sensational campaign.

Visa Player of the Match: Aitana Bonmatí (Barcelona)

"Influenced the game all over the pitch in and out of possession. High progressive passes, high ball recoveries and scored a great goal."
UEFA Technical Observer panel

Graham Hunter, Barcelona reporter

So much of the talk from Barcelona's staff and players leading up to this final was about "maturing", "managing matches better" and "learning from bitter defeat". All those things needed to be true here. The finalists were so well matched, so full of tactical discipline and cleverness. It meant that before the twinkle-toed brilliance of Bonmatí could make its wonderful impact, there needed to be patience, calm and cold-blooded control, all leading up to an eruption of talent. Then an eruption of joy.

Vanessa Tomaszewski, Lyon reporter

In the first half, Lyon struggled with Barcelona's possession. Despite creating opportunities, the French side made technical errors and lost possession easily. After the break, Bonmatí capitalised on Lyon's defensive gaps to score and Lyon failed to regain control, with wider gaps appearing in their defence. Putellas sealed the victory in the final minutes as, despite their best efforts, Lyon tasted defeat in a stadium dominated by Barcelona supporters.

It wasn't Lyon's day on Wendie Renard's 11th Champions League final appearanceGetty Images

Reaction

Jonatan Giráldez, Barcelona coach: "It was an incredible game. I am really happy, and it's one of the best days of my life, for sure. We did an amazing job. I am very proud of all of them. When I decided in December to leave at the end of the season, people thought the team's performances might dip. We showed that wasn't the case today. An amazing performance, and a deserved victory."

Lucy Bronze, Barcelona defender: "We knew we needed to be a club that made history. It's not easy, it's hard to win it once, but to do it back to back, Lyon showed how difficult it is. This team's finally done that. I think we go down in history as one of the best teams in Europe."

Sonia Bompastor, Lyon coach: The disappointment is great, and losing a final is very hard, but Barça played a great game. Our lack of offensive efficiency has cost us, but I will need more time to analyse it. Congratulations to Barcelona on winning this final. They're a great team. We would have needed to play a perfect game to win but, above all, we should have been more efficient in attack in order to get a better result."

Daniëlle van de Donk, Lyon midfielder: "I'm very emotional. Nobody likes to lose a final and we were here to win it. It's a shame we didn't create enough. Barcelona deserved the win, but I'm proud of my team; we gave it our all. I wish we could have pressed them a bit more, as I think that could have made a difference."

Aitana Bonmatí and Alexia Putellas embrace after the latter's late goalGetty Images

Key stats

• Barcelona have become only the fourth club to successfully defend the title after Umeå (in 2004), Lyon (in 2012, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020) and Wolfsburg (in 2014).
• The Spanish side's third European crown leaves them behind only Lyon (eight) and Frankfurt (four).
• Bonmatí scored for the second time in a Champions League final, after also netting in the 2021 win against Chelsea.
• Putellas struck in her third Champions League final, following goals in the 2021 and 2022 editions.
• Barcelona have become the first Spanish women's side to claim a quadruple, having also won the league, Spanish Cup and Spanish Super Cup this season.
• Lyon's Kadidiatou Diani finished as the competition's top scorer this season with eight goals.
• Wendie Renard has played a part in all Lyon's 11 finals. She has been captain for seven of them.

Line-ups

Barcelona: Coll; Bronze, Paredes, Engen, Rolfö (Batlle 67); Bonmatí, Walsh (Putellas 90+2), Guijarro; Graham Hansen, Paralluelo (Brugts 85), Caldentey (Pina 90+2)

Lyon: Endler; Carpenter, Renard, Gilles (Becho 81), Bacha; Horan, Egurrola, Van de Donk (Hegerberg 81); Diani, Dumornay, Cascarino (Majri 63)