He Lyon continues to make history in the Women’s Champions League. The French team added their fifth consecutive title and seventh alternate in Anoeta in this continental tournament after knocking down Wolfsburg in the final, who sold their defeat dearly. The finery, who went to halftime with two goals ahead, had to grit their teeth in the second half before a German push that only gave to cut distances. Gunnarsdottir ended the emotion on the verge of the end.
The start of the meeting was transcendental for this outcome. Lyon came out in a dominating plan and knew how to specify its manifest superiority with the goals of Le Sommer and Kumagai. With everything done, aware of their potential when defending, they gave meters to their rivals and they got a scare when veteran Popp signed the 1-2.
Any other set would have collapsed. The finery, no. Unlike. They weathered the storm with skill and know-how and had time to sentence the contest with their third goal at the edge of 1990. The Germans this time did not have the luck that accompanied them in their semifinal cross against Barça.
Stephan Lerch repeated the game system he used against Barça and kept practically the same starting block with two changes on the defensive line. Blasse thus entered this 4-2-3-1 as a right-back with the central Goessling close to her. Goalscorer Harder, once again, stood a few meters behind the lead Pajor.
Luc Vasseur, for his part, turned to the same players that he lined up at the start against PSG with the forced change of the forward Le Sommer for the sanctioned Parris and identical tactical drawing as his opponent (4-2-3-1). Lyon, this time, made it clear from the beginning that they were serious about winning. The French, with a combinatorial football, began to encircle Abt's goal little by little.
Kumagai was the first to try. Captain Renard joined the initiative in two separate header shots from set pieces. Wolfsburg had their best option with a volley that Harder did not quite hook well.
The Gallic insistence ended up paying off around minute 24 with a goal from Le Sommer, the top scorer in the history of his club. Lerch, with the game uphill, had to retouch his defense after injuring his left-back. Hendrich entered for it.
The Germans threatened to go for the tie, but the Japanese Kumagai made the second Gallic goal with a powerful left-foot from outside the area on the edge of the break. Too many setbacks for a Wolfsburg clearly outmatched by the rival and the circumstances. I had, yes, the whole second time to keep trying.
The German team started after the break without any change in their ranks, although with a clear offensive predisposition. The Germans joined lines, especially in the wide area, advanced a few meters behind their rear made up of three centrals and went determined in search of the opposite framework.
The clash gained in emotion when veteran Popp reduced the gap on the scoreboard with more than half an hour of the game still ahead. Lyon, far from being daunted, took out its champion stamp and began to disarm the rival pressure based on short combinations with wing starts. Wolfsburg, with their eleven refreshing players, followed theirs with conviction. His momentum, however, was blown up a few minutes to go when Gunnarsdottir took advantage of a loose ball in the rival area to sign the third French goal and sentence the final.
Lyon thus added their fifth consecutive Champions League and seventh alternate. Almost nothing.
(+) Look at the summary of the final:
(1) Wolfsburg: Abt; Blasse (Bremer 77 '), Goessling, Jansen, Doorsoun (Hendrich 39'); Engen, Popp; Huth (Walter 61 '), Harder, Rolfö; and Pajor (Oberdof 61 ').
(3) Lyon: Bouhaddi; Bronze, Buchanan, Renard, Karchaoui; Gunnarsdottir, Kumagai; Cascarino (Van den Sanden 86 '), Marozsan (Taylor 86'), Majri (Malard 93 '); and Le Sommer (Greenwood 93 ').
Goals: 0-1: min. 24, Le Sommer. 0-2: min. 43, Kumagai. 1-2: min. 56, Popp. 1-3: min. 88, Gunnarsdottir
Referee: Esther Staubli (Switzerland). He admonished Huth and Marozsan.
Incidents: Final of the Women’s Champions League played to empty goal in Anoeta.