Barcelona and OL Lyonnes clash for Women's Champions League success in Oslo

[p]The game at the 28,000-capacity Ullevaal Stadium in the Norwegian capital brings together, in the words of UEFA women's football director Nadine Kessler, "[b]the two greatest teams probably of all time[/b]."[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/lyon/ro3DSjf2/"]Lyon[/a]'s total of eight titles in the competition is four more than the next most successful club, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/eintracht-frankfurt/C6sxeOzB/"]Eintracht Frankfurt[/a].[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/barcelona/YFBOvfnB/"]Barcelona[/a], meanwhile, have won three times and are appearing in a sixth straight final. It is their seventh in the last eight years.[/p][p]It is also the fourth time these teams have played each other [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/barcelona-YFBOvfnB/lyon-ro3DSjf2/?mid=MTSWSEdU"]in the final[/a], after wins for Lyon in 2019 and 2022 and Barcelona in 2024.[/p][p]Last year, however, it was [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/arsenal/8CKOoQdn/"]Arsenal[/a] took the title, overcoming Barca in the final in Lisbon after seeing off Lyon in the semis.[/p][p]Lyon, now coached by former Barcelona boss [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/brunes-jonatan/t02ZMlBB/"]Jonatan Giraldez[/a], gained revenge over Arsenal in this season's semi-finals - having also beaten the Gunners in the league phase.[/p][p]It has been a fine first year in charge for Giraldez, with the club also looking good to win yet another French title and having collected both the French Cup and League Cup.[/p][p]The Champions League would top it all for the team owned by American businesswoman Michele Kang, who were last year rechristened OL Lyonnes.[/p][embed guid="d4ebbee1-0f76-425e-8bed-1ca831b36ae8" url="https://x.com/UWCL/status/2057419928869765207?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]There are new stars at Lyon, such as Haiti's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/dumornay-melchie/xUK2gshi/"]Melchie Dumornay[/a], Germany's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/brand-jule/QFhjsh6o/"]Jule Brand[/a] and American [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/heaps-lindsey/GC9a6mP5/"]Lindsey Heaps[/a], but veterans like [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/renard-wendie/IgKssfKE/"]Wendie Renard[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hegerberg-ada/tj1HWcLL/"]Ada Hegerberg[/a] remain.[/p][p]The latter, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ballone-andrea/hEPF3PjU/"]Ballon d'Or[/a] winner in 2018, has been at Lyon over a decade and is the all-time top scorer in the Women's Champions League. Saturday's final is a homecoming for her.[/p][p]"[b]It gives me goosebumps thinking about it[/b]," she told French media ahead of the game.[/p][h2][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bonmati-aitana/ngmvxmg9/"]Bonmati[/a] back[/h2][p]The Spanish champions and Cup winners began their European run by hammering [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/bayern-munich/vkjy3nF9/"]Bayern Munich[/a] and overcame the Germans again in the semi-finals.[/p][p]Aitana Bonmati, winner of the Ballon d'Or for the last three years, has just made her comeback after a broken leg but it remains to be seen if she starts or is a substitute at kick-off.[/p][p]"[b]They were five very hard but gratifying months,[/b]" Bonmati said of her time out.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/putellas-alexia/ChQLd9ci/"]Alexia Putellas[/a], Bonmati's teammate and predecessor as Ballon d'Or winner, is out of contract at the end of the season and her future is up in the air.[/p][embed guid="6a31a807-7f5d-46f4-adbf-bc515db13188" url="https://x.com/UWCL/status/2057461408309387314?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]There are also doubts about the futures of other key players, and the coach Pere Romeu, but for now Barcelona want to focus on more continental success.[/p][p]This has been the first season since a new format was introduced in the Women's Champions League, with an 18-team league phase mirroring the 36-team men's equivalent.[/p][p]Lyon and Barcelona were the top two teams in the league phase, with each managing five wins and one draw in six games.[/p][p]"[b]No team has marked European women's football more than Barca in the last few years,[/b]" said Kessler, mindful that the Catalans are the only team that has proven capable of competing with Lyon over the long-term.[/p]