Photo Copyright Daniela Porcelli for SPP
“You can’t compare eight Champions Leagues with two,” Olympique Lyonnais goalkeeper Christiane Endler told Spanish media earlier this week. “With all respect, it’s still very ambitious on Barcelona’s part to compare results. I’ve only won one, but it’s not the same as what Lyon has accomplished in its history.”
Endler has a point. But ahead of the Champions League final on Saturday in Bilbao – where we will see the two titans of European women’s football clash – one feels inclined to do just that: compare them. In the build-up to a game of this magnitude, that is inevitable.
In the end, this match will be decided on the pitch, as it always is. A look at the raw numbers or the history can only provide an insight, but Endler’s comments do oversimplify this tie.
Yes, Lyon have won the Champions League eight times. Barcelona have won it twice. Lyon have contested 11 finals, Barcelona five. Between 2016 and 2020, Lyon won a remarkable five consecutive Champions…
