History of the most magical kind. Is there anything that can stop this simply amazing FC Barcelona team? And this one came against their nemesis. The same Lyon that has twice caused them heartbreak in the final. But not this time! From the very first minute to the last, when Alexia Putellas whacked in the definitive second goal, there only ever looked like being one winner. Lyon did nothing wrong, but they were up against a team that is simply out of this world.
Especially in the second half, absolutely everything clicked into place. It was a masterclass. A superb piece of football from Aitana Bonmati finally got her team into a more than deserved lead. And from there it was full speed ahead. And so it was confirmed. Not so this time.
And they quickly made it show. They utterly dominated the possession and they utterly dominated the chances. Mariona Caldentey had the best of all but it was cleared off the line and Caroline Graham Hansen will feel disappointed with her finish after a tremendous solo run into a shooting position.
But Lyon were always going to be an opponent to reckon with and as the game progressed, so did their contributions. They defend well and are lethal on the counter attack, and Cata Coll needed to be at her most solid best on a number of occasions. Buoyed by such immense swathes of blaugrana-clad supporters that this was practically a home game, the Catalans always looked more in command, and in the second half they moved things into top gear.
And when she did, a goal always looked like coming. Now it really was party-time in Bilbao! Lyon looked shell-shocked. Graham Hansen had the best of several chances to double the lead, but an impressive last-ditch tackle from Salma Bacha prevented what was otherwise a certain goal.
