Barcelona earned back-to-back titles on Saturday, while Olympique Lyonnais returned to the drawing board, in a final that will live long in the memory.
Equalizer Soccer asks what the key takeaways from this UEFA Champions League campaign are, and looks ahead to what to watch out for next season.
Budding rivalries
This was the third Champions League final Barcelona and Lyon contested, and it turned out to be by far the tightest. Until Aitana Bonmati’s deflected shot got the breakthrough after the hour mark, the match had been very even, and dominated by defensive efforts. Compared to the 4-0 and 3-0 half-time score lines from 2019 and 2022, where Lyon made it look easy, this final had real tension.
That Barcelona finally broke their Lyon duck (the French club had led their head-to-head 4-0 going into the final) was a great thing for the women’s game as a whole. Across sport, rivalries are what fuel intrigue, and you cannot have a rivalry unless there is real jeopardy. This final went a long way to evening out the dynamic between the top two…
