5 things we learned after Barcelona finally crack Lyon code to retain UWCL

Bilbao was a sea of blue and garnet on Saturday as two titans of women’s football went head-to-head in the UEFA Women’s Champions League final at San Mames.

For Barcelona, it was a revenge mission after they were beaten by Lyon in both the 2019 and 2022 finals of the competition. They were finally crowned champions in 2021 after beating Chelsea and produced a remarkable comeback to beat Wolfsburg last year, but the French side were the one team they could not overcome.

That was, until Aitana Bonmati produced a moment of magic in the second-half to fire Barcelona in front against Lyon. After a relatively even match-up in front of over 50,000 spectators, Jonatan Giraldez’s side displayed their quality to get themselves over the line.

Alexia Putellas took to the pitch as the clock ticked into additional time and was quick to put the result beyond doubt as she fired home the second of the night. Two goals down with minutes left to play, Lyon were resigned to their fate.

Here’s a look at five things we learned from a historic night in Bilbao.

Barcelona have always been technically and tactically brilliant, but their previous showings in finals against Lyon exposed frailties in their mentality and physicality. Progress was underlined in last year’s comeback victory against Wolfsburg, but Saturday’s match up against Lyon was the ultimate test.

The 2-0 win marks a coming of age for this Barcelona team as they were finally able to conquer the greatest club team in the women’s game. Goalscorer Bonmati summed up her team’s previous struggles pre-match, as she told the media: “Years ago we were more vulnerable and we found it difficult to come back in games we were losing.”

There was absolutely no vulnerability on display against Lyon this time around as they dominated possession and carved out numerous opportunities. The French club had their moments, but Bonmati was the difference maker as she broke the deadlock in the second half.

The maturity shown in the closing stages of the game to sniff out any danger as Lyon pushed for an equaliser typified the progress made by the team in recent years. Barcelona of the past may have struggled to see out the game, but not now, not this team.

The disappointment among the Lyon players at full-time was palpable. This is a team who are not used to losing -…