midfield battle, lack of realism, departure of the two coaches… The keys to the final between Barcelona and Lyon

The Fenottes, champions of France for the 17th time, will face the defending champions in the Champions League, Saturday May 25, in Bilbao.

A duel for European supremacy. For the third time in their history, FC Barcelona and Olympique Lyonnais will face each other in the final of the Women’s Champions League, Saturday May 25, at the San Mamés stadium in Bilbao (Spain). If the Fenottes with eight European championship titles (including five in a row between 2016 and 2020) have always outclassed their opponent, with five victories in five matches, this time they are not favorites. Since then, their Spanish rivals have won two European trophies (2021 and 2023).

The women’s section of OL can still boast of having a much better experience than Barça, whose team has only been professional since 2015. But the current two best European clubs, which shared the eight last trophies, ultimately have more similarities than their antagonism suggests. The Catalans leave with a significant advantage: the public. At least 40,000 Blaugranas are expected in the Spanish Basque Country, in a stadium with 53,330 seats. The rest will be played out on the pitch and franceinfo: sport gives you the keys to this battle.

Two attacks lacking in effectiveness

Despite their status as the best attacks in the Champions League, with 34 goals scored for Barça, compared to 36 for OL, the two teams could be much more effective in front of goal. Olympique Lyonnais, for example, shot 38 times during their double confrontation against Paris Saint-Germain in the semi-finals, only shaking the net five times. A ratio almost equivalent to the previous round to get rid of Benfica, with 41 shots for six goals.

Same thing on the Catalan side, with notably 49 shots attempted against Brann in the quarter-finals, for only five goals. Barça seems even more in difficulty than Olympique Lyonnais in this sector of play, struggling to create chances. These shortcomings can be explained by the absences at the number nine position: the departure of Asisat Oshoala from FC Barcelona to the American league in the winter and the successive injuries to Eugénie Le Sommer and Ada Hegerberg on the Lyon side.

The crucial middle battle for the coronation

Another similarity between these two teams: the midfield. FC Barcelona has two Golden Balls in its midfield with Alexia Putellas and Aitana Bonmati. Which are surrounded by players like Patri Guijarro or Keira Walsh, the best in this area in Europe in defensive or central midfielder positions. But Olympique Lyonnais is not left out. With his trio Lindsey Horan, Damaris Egurrola and Daniëlle van de Donk, the Fenottes present a very complementary and physically imposing trio, where the Catalan midfielder shines more with his technique.

No surprise, therefore, to find two of the three OL midfielders in the standard XI of the D1 Arkema season (Horan and Egurrola), or to see Patri Guijarro in fifth place in the last Ballon d’Or. The duel between the two European giants should be played out in the midfield.

In the cages, goalkeepers with opposing dynamics

Long presented as “the best goalkeeper in the world”, Christiane Endler is not having her best season with OL. Due to the defense first, often amputated by Wendie Renard. But also a few blunders from the Chilean, often the author of placement errors. In total, she has conceded 16 goals in 28 matches, including eight in the Champions League. Proof of this downgrading, the goalkeeper no longer appears in the top 3 of The Best ranking of the best goalkeepers in Fifa, after four podiums on the clock between 2019 and 2022.

In Barcelona, ​​Cata Coll figures well in this ranking. The goalkeeper, who started in goal for La Roja during the 2023 world title, has conceded only six goals in 21 games, including three in the Champions League. Good on her line, like her two decisive saves during the semi-final return against Chelsea, she is also renowned for her exceptional technique which allows her to dribble past opposing attackers.

A trophy war between two fine tacticians

Both on their respective benches since 2021, Sonia Bompastor and Jonatan Giraldez are stacking up trophies with Olympique Lyonnais and FC Barcelona and are both in the Fifa ranking of the best women’s team coaches. The Frenchwoman has seven trophies with OL, including a Champions League, when Jonatan Giraldez peaks at eight, with the Spanish Cup won on Saturday after an 8-0 victory in the final against Real Sociedad.

“The Spanish women, at the moment, are on fire, they are winning a lot,” conceded Sonia Bompastor to franceinfo on Sunday. Especially since Jonatan Giraldez announced, in mid-December, that he would leave the Catalan club at the end of his contract to fly to Washington Spirit, one of the women’s clubs of Michele Kang, the new owner of the Women’s OL. The objective, for him, is obviously to finish on a good note and achieve the Liga, Cup, Super Cup and Champions League quadruple, something never seen before in women’s Barça.