FC Barcelona: 2026 UEFA Women's Champions League Winners

 

Two second-half goals each by Ewa Pajor and Salma Paralluelo gave Barcelona victory in the 2026 UEFA Women's Champions League final against OL Lyonnes in Oslo.

Arsenal: 2024-25 UEFA Women's Champions League Winners

 

Arsenal defeated Barcelona 1-0 to win the UEFA Women's Champions League final in Lisbon with a goal from Stina Blackstenius seven minutes after she came off the bench.

Barcelona, aiming for a third straight title as they featured in the final for the fifth year in a row, had the majority of the play and the chances. But they could not force a breakthrough and, with 16 minutes left, Beth Mead set up fellow substitute Blackstenius for the goal that sealed victory 18 years on from Arsenal's only previous final, when they won the old UEFA Women's Cup by beating Umeå by the same 1-0 scoreline on aggregate.

Match in brief: Substitutes provide late twist

Arsenal were boosted by goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar being fit, having not appeared since the semi-final second-leg win at Lyon on 27 April, while Chloe Kelly started on the right with Beth Mead on the bench. They looked to start brightly and had the better of the opening ten minutes, but the first real chance fell to Aitana Bonmatí, whose effort was blocked.

However, Arsenal continued to think positively and Frida Maanum let fly from distance, forcing a fingertip save from Cata Coll; Kim Little blazed over following the resultant corner. Aitana was denied by Van Domselaar after a solo run, and Leah Williamson did well to block from ten-goal competition top scorer Clàudia Pina, starting today having come off the bench for Barcelona in the previous three finals.

Having dominated the later stages of the first half, Barcelona kept that up after the interval, with Pina testing Van Domselaar from distance before combining with Aitana and looping the ball via a deflection off Emily Fox onto the top of the crossbar. Alexia Putellas then played into the path of Ona Batlle, who was only just off target from outside the box.

The pressure continued as again Van Domselaar saved from Aitana. Arsenal brought on Mead and Blackstenius, and they almost struck against the run of play as the Swedish forward won the ball in midfield and broke free – but could not beat Coll. Straight up the other end, Ewa Pajor put a header off target.

However, the changes and the Blackstenius chance gave Arsenal confidence, and with 16 minutes to go they won a corner. That was delivered by former Barcelona stalwart Mariona Caldentey; the ball was only half-cleared and Mead played back in for Blackstenius to apply a cool finish.

Barcelona pressed for an equaliser and an Aitana shot was deflected wide. But Arsenal were able to keep Barcelona at bay to inherit their crown as European champions.

Visa Player of the Match: Stina Blackstenius (Arsenal)

"Had two chances before the goal with her runs in behind, stretching the game more. Then came the goal showing her match-winning influence; Mead's assist also shows the impact of substitutions for Arsenal in changing the game."

UEFA Technical Observer panel

Faye Hackwell, Arsenal reporter

An 18-year wait for a European trophy finally comes to an end, as Arsenal wrap up a campaign of twists and turns with a momentous victory. There have been so many occasions this season when they could have exited the competition, but they always hit back and today they fought with their hearts on their sleeves. There's a special togetherness in this squad and they channelled their hunger into collective determination and discipline to overcome a great Barcelona side, with a winner from perennial super-sub Blackstenius.

Graham Hunter, Barcelona reporter

They arrived with über-confidence, were heavily favoured, kept trying to compete with Arsenal, but, ultimately, this was a final in which the reigning champions Barcelona were both outplayed and outcompeted.

Reaction

Renée Slegers, Arsenal coach: "I'm super-proud of my players. You can have all these ideas in your head, show videos, use your tactics board and then train them, but when you play such a good rival, who we've not faced for years, then it's executing all that in a Champions League final, which says so much about my players. I think this was the hardest game we've played so far – Barcelona gave us so much to deal with.

"So many hard times this season. We’ve been through so much together, but we've always fought back. Belief was growing all season, and a couple of critical moments in the season gave us more and more of that. The players have invested so much; they've been so intense in how they train. All the things we've demanded of them, all the questions we've asked them – they so deserve this!"

Pere Romeu, Barcelona coach: "Losing a final like this leaves you in a complicated mood. Our most experienced, best players know that in a final like this, anything can happen. We wanted more possession, more control. It cost us to generate the superiority which we wanted to achieve.

"I think that the space we generated wide, we didn't manage to convert into clear chances. I thought that the crosses in could have been better. It's one thing we didn't do all that well."

"Everyone can judge our work as they wish. We got to the last match of the Champions League. Self-critically, we didn't produce the best performance, but I don't think that anyone should judge our season just on this match."

Stina Blackstenius, Visa Player of the Match and Arsenal goalscorer: "I just can't believe it. It was such a team performance from the very beginning until the very end. I just can't believe we won the Champions League. It hasn't sunk in yet.

"They said I should try to run in behind and try to stretch them. This is, once again, a big team performance. I'm so proud of our journey, how we came here, and how we managed the game today."

Daphne van Domselaar, Arsenal goalkeeper: "I can't believe it. Honestly, it's something we worked towards the whole season, and we finally made it through to the final and actually won it – that's insane. I think we showed so much determination, and I'm just so proud of everyone.

"Of course, you dream [about keeping a clean sheet in the final] and then it becomes reality. That's insane. I need to give a lot of credit to the girls as well, how much they showed, the blocks they did and they just literally put their body on the line. And I think we all have the same mentality, so I think we've done it as a team."

Kim Little, Arsenal captain: "We knew that we had to be basically perfect to beat Barcelona, who've been one of the best in Europe for years. We did things in training which didn't work; we adapted them, and they did work today. Our players who came on today had an incredible impact.

[On sharing the trophy lift with vice-captain Williamson] "Leah and I went through the game close together. It was hard, it was intense, physical and it was hot. So when we shared that moment at the end, it was very special. Given how much it means to me, it was great to share that with her."

Aitana Bonmatí, Barcelona midfielder: "We weren't at our sharpest in the first half. It cost us to impose our game. After the break, I thought the game was more comfortable for us, but I want to congratulate Arsenal because they hit their game plan, waited for their opportunity and then took it.

“It really hurts me to look up at the stands and see our fans. It reminds me of losing in Turin [in the 2022 final]. Arsenal's goal came from a set play which we didn't defend well, but they knew how to convert their chance. We weren't at our best level, but we gave all we had. In situations like that, football sometimes punishes you. We need to push onwards and use what's happened here to our benefit in the future."

Cata Coll, Barcelona goalkeeper: "I think the game had a bit of everything. Both teams competed, but they managed to get that goal. It hurts, in all honesty. The match is over; we have to deal with it, and that's it.

"Obviously, my main objective is to ultimately keep a clean sheet, and it hurts not being able to achieve that. Arsenal scored, and I'm happy for them. We were just lacking a goal of our own, but it still hurts."

Key stats

Arsenal won their second title 18 years on from their only previous final; a record gap between first and second titles and finals.

Arsenal were the first team to reach the final from round 1 of this format and their campaign involved an unprecedented 15 matches.

Katie McCabe started all 15 matches and her 1,297 minutes is the most ever by a player in a single UEFA women's club season. Blackstenius, Mariona, Caitlin Foord, Maanum and Alessia Russo also appeared in all 15 Arsenal games.

Barcelona played their 100th game in the competition, the fourth team to reach the mark after Lyon, Arsenal and Wolfsburg. Their first two matches were also losses against Arsenal in the 2012/13 round of 32 (Alexia and Little involved then too).

Barcelona equalled Lyon's record by playing in a fifth consecutive final.

Aitana and Alexia kept up their record of appearing in all six of Barcelona's finals. The only other player to appear for Barcelona in their first five was Mariona, who moved to Arsenal last summer and thus celebrated her third title in a row having won in 2023 and 2024 with the Blaugrana.

Barcelona ended the campaign with 44 goals, one off Wolfsburg's record from 2013/14.

Arsenal: Van Domselaar; Fox, Williamson, Catley, McCabe; Mariona, Maanum (Blackstenius 67), Little; Foord (Hurtig 86), Russo (Wubben-Moy 90+1), Kelly (Mead 67)

Barcelona: Cata Coll; Batlle, Paredes, Mapi León (Engen 78), Rolfö (Brugts 78); Aitana Bonmatí, Patri Guijarro, Alexia Putellas; Graham Hansen, Pajor, Pina (Paralluelo 62)

Barcelona: 2024 UEFA Women's Champions League Winners

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.

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.

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."

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)

Roll of honour: Finals

UEFA Women's Champions League:

2024 (Bilbao): Barcelona 2-0 Lyon

2023 (Eindhoven): Barcelona 3-2 Wolfsburg

2022 (Turin): Lyon 3-1 Barcelona

2021 (Gothenburg): Barcelona 4-0 Chelsea

2020 (San Sebastián): Lyon 3-1 Wolfsburg

2019 (Budapest): Lyon 4-1 Barcelona

2018 (Kyiv): Lyon 4-1aet Wolfsburg

2017 (Cardiff): Lyon 0-0aet, 7-6pens Paris Saint-Germain

2016 (Reggio Emilia): Lyon 1-1aet, 4-3pens Wolfsburg

2015 (Berlin): Frankfurt 2-1 Paris Saint-Germain

2014 (Lisbon): Wolfsburg 4-3 Tyresö

2013 (London): Wolfsburg 1-0 Lyon

2012 (Munich): Lyon 2-0 FFC Frankfurt

2011 (London): Lyon 2-0 Turbine Potsdam

2010 (Madrid): Turbine Potsdam 0-0aet, 7-6pens Lyon

UEFA Women's Cup:

Two-legged finals

2009: Duisburg 6-0/1-1: agg 7-1 Zvezda-2005

2008: Frankfurt 1-1/3-2: agg 4-3 Umeå

2007: Arsenal 1-0/0-0: agg 1-0 Umeå

2006: Frankfurt 4-0/3-2: agg 7-2 Turbine Potsdam

2005: Turbine Potsdam 2-0/3-1: agg 5-1 Djurgården

2004: Umeå 3-0/5-0: agg 8-0 Frankfurt

2003: Umeå 4-1/3-0: agg 7-1 Fortuna Hjørring

One-off final

2002 (Frankfurt): Frankfurt 2-0 Umeå

FC Barcelona: 2022-23 UEFA Women's Champions League Winners

Barcelona have won the UEFA Women's Champions League for the second time in three years after a thrilling comeback from two down to beat Wolfsburg 3-2 in Eindhoven.

Ewa Pajor and Alex Popp had put Wolfsburg seemingly in control at half-time. But, within five minutes of the restart, Patri Guijarro scored twice to level the scores, and former Wolfsburg player Fridolina Rolfö later sealed only the second comeback from two goals down to win a final of this competition.

A fast start had proved the key in the previous four finals – three of those involving Barcelona – and the Blaugrana poured forward immediately, piling on the pressure. After just three minutes, however, they were behind, as Ewa Pajor dispossessed Lucy Bronze, cut inside and fired in from outside the box for her competition-leading ninth goal of the season, and a strike similar to Amandine Henry's opener for Lyon against Barcelona a year ago.

Barcelona responded confidently, Irene Paredes getting in a great position from a corner but heading wide of the far post. Aitana Bonmatí then had a shot blocked in the box, and Barcelona kept building in their trademark way, only to encounter tenacious pressing from the likes of Alex Popp – nominally Wolfsburg's centre-forward – Lena Oberdorf and Jill Roord.

In the 37th minute, Popp buried her record-equalling fourth goal in a final. Pajor was the provider this time, receiving the ball from Felicitas Rauch and sending in a perfect cross for her captain, playing in her seventh decider overall, to nod in. Barcelona needed a response and Bronze, a three-time winner with Lyon, nearly provided one just before half-time, forcing her way through and slipping the ball to Salma Paralluelo, who was denied at close range by Merle Frohms.

The first-half stats had Barcelona 16-3 up on attempts and they quickly added to their tally after the interval, Mariona Caldentey shooting straight at Frohms. And the next attempt was a goal, Bonmatí's trickery freeing Caroline Graham Hansen for a clever cutback which set up Patri Guijarro to halve the deficit.

Two minutes later it was 2-2, and Guijarro again the scorer, heading in after another superb piece of skill and perfect lobbed cross from Bonmatí. Barcelona were now pouring forward, stretching Wolfsburg on both flanks and bombarding the penalty area.

Wolfsburg were not giving up, though, and Dutch duo Lynn Wilms and Roord combined to feed Pajor, whose angled shot did not beat Sandra Paños. Pajor again had the ball in a similar position on the left a couple of minutes later – with the same result.

Instead, it was Barcelona who found the net once more. Soon after coming on, Geyse sent in a cross and an attempted Wilms clearance hit Kathrin Hendrich in the Wolfsburg box. Caldentey was there to pounce and somehow wriggled free of the defensive pair to feed former Wolfsburg player Fridolina Rolfö, who made no mistake with the goal gaping.

There was no way back for Wolfsburg, despite a last-gasp effort from their semi-final hero Pauline Bremer, and even before the final whistle there was an extra treat for the large Barcelona contingent in the Dutch women's record 33,147 crowd as Alexia Putellas came off the bench for her first appearance in the Women's Champions League this season after serious injury.

Visa Player of the Match: Patri Guijarro (Barcelona)

"She changed the game by scoring two goals in quick succession. The catalyst for the Barcelona comeback. Her attacking attitude in the second half got her into the box to capitalise on crossing opportunities that Barcelona couldn't capitalise on in the first half."

UEFA Technical Observer panel

Graham Hunter, Barcelona reporter

Barcelona won a final which they'd looked like losing thanks to one of their oldest tricks: dropping an extra player into midfield to create 'superiority' of numbers, Caldentey in this instance.

Wolfsburg's tactics and execution had been so clever. But Spain's champions took trailing 2-0 as a personal insult. The turbochargers went on and the reset strategy worked a treat. Rolfö was also key, playing as a left-winger not a full-back. 'She who dares wins' was the motto.

Judith Tuffentsammer, Wolfsburg reporter

In the end, it was rare blips in defensive coverage that cost Wolfsburg their hard-earned lead – and the game. Up 2-0 thanks to impressive ruthlessness in the first half, the Wölfinnen surprised everyone and looked like the formidable opponents they'd set out to be.

After Barcelona had endured their fair share of bad luck in the first half, they came out of the dressing room blazing. The Spanish side proved the more dominant and clinical team throughout the second period, with Wolfsburg unable to recreate their attacking output of the first 45 minutes.

Paul Saffer, match reporter

After four straight finals in which a fast start to the game had been the key, this time it was what came immediately after the interval that proved decisive. Barcelona have shown their ability to dictate and dominate in recent years; what they unveiled tonight was a grit and tactical flexibility to go with the incredible individual talents they boast.

Reaction

Jonatan Giráldez, Barcelona coach: "Maybe the half-time score was unfair because of how many chances we'd created and the pattern of play. We made a mistake at the start and we conceded. It's not about what happens but how you react, and we did that well but then conceded again. At half-time, we wanted to improve ball reception. We had to wake up, be optimistic, realise there were 45 minutes left and it wasn't impossible."

Patri Guijarro, Player of the Match: "It complicates matters when you concede two goals. We created chances but didn't take them. We talked at half-time about those small details, the self-belief that we've matured since last year and that we didn't break down after going behind. It was everyone’s hunger and belief [that led to victory]. I'm really happy about helping my team win this piece of silverware."

Lucy Bronze, Barcelona defender: "We made it hard for ourselves in the first half, even though we created so many chances. We could have scored many goals in that first half. I think we knew we had enough quality to come back into any game. I don't think we were ever worried about scoring three goals, which is a crazy feat to do, but that's the talent within this team."

Caroline Graham Hansen, Barcelona forward: "This game had every emotion it could have. I'm just so happy. Two-nil down at half-time, I had a big flashback to the last final [losing to Lyon in 2022] and thought, 'It's not going to happen again.'"

Tommy Stroot, Wolfsburg coach: "Congratulations to Barcelona. We saw a great game here in Eindhoven. It was an advertisement for women's football. Everyone in the stadium and watching on TV saw a game of a great standard with high individual quality – from Barcelona, but also the way we played."

Alex Popp, Wolfsburg forward: "Firstly, it's an incredible disappointment. For one, there's a big feeling of emptiness, because we had a 2-0 lead. But I believe we played a very good season – in the Champions League, winning the German Cup and doing well in the league. That's extremely difficult to understand now because the pain and disappointment are so big. But give the players a few days and then, hopefully, the world will look a bit different."

Key stats

Contesting their fourth final in five years, Barcelona won a second title to go with their 2020/21 triumph.

Barcelona are only the second team to come back from two goals down to win a final of this competition, Wolfsburg having done likewise against Tyresö in 2014.

Popp equalled Ada Hegerberg's record of scoring in the final in four separate seasons.

Wolfsburg suffered their fourth straight final defeat after losing to Lyon in 2016, 2018 and 2020. They won the final in their first two European campaigns in 2012/13 and 2013/14.

Line-ups

Barcelona: Paños; Bronze, Paredes, León, Rolfö; Bonmatí (Putellas 90), Walsh (Syrstad Engen 89), Guijarro; Graham Hansen (Crnogorčević 79), Caldentey (Pina 79), Paralluelo (Geyse 70)

Wolfsburg: Frohms; Wilms (Hegering 84), Hendrich, Janssen, Rauch; Oberdorf, Roord (Lattwein 71); Huth; Jónsdóttir, Popp, Pajor (Bremer 84)

Roll of honour: Finals

UEFA Women's Champions League:

2023 (Eindhoven): Barcelona 3-2 Wolfsburg

2022 (Turin): Lyon 3-1 Barcelona

2021 (Gothenburg): Barcelona 4-0 Chelsea

2020 (San Sebastián): Lyon 3-1 Wolfsburg

2019 (Budapest): Lyon 4-1 Barcelona

2018 (Kyiv): Lyon 4-1aet Wolfsburg

2017 (Cardiff): Lyon 0-0aet, 7-6pens Paris Saint-Germain

2016 (Reggio Emilia): Lyon 1-1aet, 4-3pens Wolfsburg

2015 (Berlin): Frankfurt 2-1 Paris Saint-Germain

2014 (Lisbon): Wolfsburg 4-3 Tyresö

2013 (London): Wolfsburg 1-0 Lyon

2012 (Munich): Lyon 2-0 FFC Frankfurt

2011 (London): Lyon 2-0 Turbine Potsdam

2010 (Madrid): Turbine Potsdam 0-0aet, 7-6pens Lyon

UEFA Women's Cup:

Two-legged finals

2009: Duisburg 6-0/1-1: agg 7-1 Zvezda-2005

2008: Frankfurt 1-1/3-2: agg 4-3 Umeå

2007: Arsenal 1-0/0-0: agg 1-0 Umeå

2006: Frankfurt 4-0/3-2: agg 7-2 Turbine Potsdam

2005: Turbine Potsdam 2-0/3-1: agg 5-1 Djurgården

2004: Umeå 3-0/5-0: agg 8-0 Frankfurt

2003: Umeå 4-1/3-0: agg 7-1 Fortuna Hjørring

One-off final

2002 (Frankfurt): Frankfurt 2-0 Umeå

Olympique Lyonnais: 2021-22 UEFA Women's Champions League Winners

 

Lyon won the UEFA Women's Champions League for the eighth time as they dethroned holders Barcelona with a 3-1 victory in Turin, all the goals coming in the first half.

Amandine Henry, Ada Hegerberg and Catarina Macario put Lyon three up before Alexia Putellas pulled one back. The action did not stop in the second period but Lyon, 12 months after Barcelona replaced them as champions, are on top again.

The huge Barcelona travelling support in an attendance of over 30,000 was stunned at its own end six minutes in when Amandine Henry curled in a superb effort from distance. Barcelona responded swiftly and Christiane Endler was called into action by Jenni Hermoso, who was then denied by a great saving tackle from Selma Bacha.

Bacha was overlapping on the right and she made the second as she swung in a cross met by a perfect header from Ada Hegerberg, already a hat-trick scorer in the 2019 final defeat of Barcelona. Amazingly, it was three later in the half, Catarina Macario forcing the ball in after a defensive mix-up. Hegerberg was then denied by Sandra Paños but there was hope for Barcelona before the break when Alexia Putellas stole in to turn in Caroline Graham Hansen's cross, the captain's competition-leading 11th goal of the season.

Endler was relieved not long prior to the hour mark when Patri Guijarro tried a lob from the halfway line with the Lyon keeper out of her goal, only for the ball to drop on to the crossbar. Barcelona sent on Asisat Oshoala, who headed fractionally wide, and fellow substitute Ana-Maria Crnogorčević also volleyed just past the post. But in a finish as breathless as the start in a sweltering Turin, with Hegerberg hitting the post, Lyon held on and the celebrations began.

Visa Player of the Match: Amandine Henry (Lyon)

"Henry was the director of the game. She kept the team together. She was always the cover in midfield. Her clever interceptions took pressure off the defence. In attack she found the openings with great awareness, often with one-touch passes. In the early stage of the game she opened the scoring with a cracker. That first goal showed the way to victory."

UEFA Technical Observer panel

Reporter's views

Paul Saffer, UEFA.com match reporter: A final to rank with the best: Wolfsburg 4-3 Tyresö in 2014 and the Frankfurt 3-2 Umeå second leg in 2008. Ever since last year's final the European women's club game seemed to belong to Barcelona, but Lyon are back in charge after a mere 12-month interregnum. Henry was at her vintage best, Selma Bacha brilliant at left-back, Hegerberg did Hegerberg things, and Renard lifted this trophy once more.

Alexandra Jonsson, Barcelona reporter: Barcelona came into this final as the favourites. They've been unstoppable all season, winning all but one of their games, but perhaps that was their downfall in this final. Up against a very good Lyon, Barcelona were caught completely off guard. They are used to always being on the ball and getting it back quickly when they lose it; not so this evening. Barcelona have been on top of the world for some time; today they got a challenge they couldn't overcome but to look at the silver lining, perhaps that will help take them up yet another level.

Vanessa Tomaszewski, Lyon reporter: From the beginning Lyon piled on the pressure, and their three-goal burst both damaged Barcelona's morale and showed the efficiency of Sonia Bompastor's team. This match was also a beautiful duel between Henry and Putellas. Bacha revealed herself again as a passer, in a season where she got nine assists in this competition, three clear of the next best tally. With Bompastor herself also setting a new mark, Lyon have made yet more history.

Reaction

Sonia Bompastor, Lyon coach: "My team-talk was very easy. This is the most beautiful match and beautiful competition a club can dream of playing. So you need to be up to scratch. We were very sad for Ellie [Carpenter] ... I'm quite pessemistic, I think it is a serious injury.

"It is the first time [someone has won this competition as a player and a coach], we are making history. But what was important it was the tenth final for the club and a chance to get an eighth title. It's a victory I want to savour but it's not me who should be in the spotlight, it's my players and the staff. I am very demanding but my staff support me and help me with my emotions so it is a collective victory."

Hegerberg on 'indescribable' win

Amandine Henry, Player of the Match: "I could see a space [for the goal] and I went for it! I tried my luck and I saw exactly where it was going, didn't even wait for it to go into the top corner before I was celebrating!

"I do like these type of games. This gets into my core, I love games like this. I also have some fantastic team-mates around me, they make it like easier, The whole team has won this trophy today."

Wendie Renard, Lyon captain: "[On if Lyon were underdogs] That's what journalists said. We wanted to keep on writing our story and we had things to show, so tonight we showed what we could do and we showed it well because we're leaving with the trophy."

Jonatan Giráldez, Barcelona coach: "We knew that they would put lot of pressure on us. The first goal, an astonishing goal, made us very confused. We were a bit out of place. We knew the key to the game was to control their transitions and for some minutes we weren't able to do that. We had to go deeper and that gave them a lot of energy. We tried to get a quick equaliser but at 3-1 we were way behind. We want to congratulate them – they are an amazing team."

Lyon have now won eight titles, twice as many as the next best tally (Frankfurt with four).

Wendie Renard and Eugénie Le Sommer have played in all eight of those final wins.

Sonia Bompastor, a winner with Lyon in 2011 and 2012, became the first woman to both play and coach in a final.

Lyon became the first team to play in ten finals and Renard the first player to do so, to end a season where she became the first to pass 100 competition appearances; she is now on 102.

Hegerberg got her 59th European goal in her 60th appearance, and her sixth in finals (four against Barcelona). Only Conny Pohlers (8) has more final goals; Hegerberg is now level with Marta.

Macario is the first American to score in a final.

Barcelona had not been three behind in any match since the 2019 final against Lyon.

There were four goals in the first half of the final for the third time in four years but, unlike 2019 and 2021, not all for the same team.

Lyon set a new record for both games in a UEFA women's club season (13) and wins (11).

Line-ups

Barcelona: Paños; Torrejón (Crnogorčević 59), Irene Paredes, Mapi León, Rolfö (Pina 75); Aitana, Patri Guijarro, Alexia; Graham Hansen, Jenni Hermoso (Oshoala 46), Mariona (Martens 59)

Lyon: Endler; Carpenter (Buchanan 14), Renard, Mbock Bathy (Cayman 81), Bacha; Horan, Henry, Macario; D Cascarino (Morroni 81), Hegerberg, Malard (Le Sommer 72)

Olympique Lyonnais: 2016 UEFA Women's Champions League Winners

Lyon clinched a third UEFA Women's Champions League title as they avenged their 1-0 defeat by Wolfsburg in the 2013 final on penalties in Reggio Emilia.

In 2013, Wolfsburg held Lyon off in the first half, but 12 minutes in this time around the French champions struck, their German winger Pauline Bremer setting off on a mazy dribble down the right and squaring for competition top scorer Ada Hegerberg to turn in. Lyon, with Bremer and Amel Majri wide in a 4-3-3 formation, dominated the first half and early in the second period Wolfsburg's Élise Bussaglia had to clear off the line from ex-OL club-mate Wendie Renard.

Louisa Necib, on her final Lyon appearance, let fly from distance and her shot so nearly crept in, and despite bringing on Ramona Bachmann and Tessa Wullaert, Wolfsburg seldom looked like conjuring up the sort of comeback that won them their second final in 2014. That, though, was before Alex Popp rose to head in Isabel Kerschowski's high cross.

Eventually penalties were needed to separate the sides; Almuth Schult denied Hegerberg, but Sarah Bouhaddi saved from Nilla Fischer and former OL colleague Bussaglia before Kumagai stepped up to win it.

Player of the match: Saki Kumagai (Lyon)
Solid in midfield, the Japanese international wrote herself into the competition's history with her stutttering run-up and calm finish from the penalty spot.

Lyon brain, Wolfsburg spirit
Lyon's 4-3-3 formation enabled them Bremer and Amel Majri to outflank Wolfsburg but Popp's utter determination to win her header forced extra time when it seemed very unlikely. OL made it in the end but the beautiful thing about football is, if you do not turn chances into goals, you can come unstuck. Another classic final, after the tension of 2013, the breathless drama of 2014 and the twists of 2015.

A great generation deserved third title
 Lotta Schelin, Necib and Amandine Henry played crucial roles in Lyon's ten straight French titles and now three European crowns. It says much for how this squad is built that not only that trio but also Sarah Bouhaddi, Renard, Camille Abily and Eugénie Le Sommer have played in three final wins and five deciders overall since 2010 for Lyon.