Olympique Lyonnes and Barcelona will battle it out for the biggest win in European club football, the Uefa Women's Champions League, in Oslo on Saturday.
Issued on: 23/05/2026 - 09:36
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A victory at Ullevaal Stadium would see Olympique Lyonnes lift the continent's most prestigious cup for a record-extending ninth time, since the inception of the competition in 2001. Their total of eight titles in the competition is four more than the next most successful club, Eintracht Frankfurt. Barcelona, who are in the final for a sixth consecutive season, are seeking a fourth Champions League crown. Nadine Kessler, director of women’s football at Uefa, called the rivals: "The two greatest teams probably of all time." The clash in the Norwegian capital will be the fourth meeting of the two powerhouses in the final, with Lyon winning in 2019 and 2022 and Barcelona in 2024. Last year Arsenal took the title, overcoming Barca in the final in Lisbon after seeing off Lyon in the semis. OL's winning streak Olympique Lyonnes coach Jonatan Giraldez spent between 2019 and 2024 as assistant coach then head coach at Barcelona, before moving to Washington Spirit in the National Women's Soccer League in the United States. The 34-year-old Spaniard took charge of the Lyon side in July 2025 and has brought new stars such as Melchie Dumornay, Jule Brand and Lindsey Heaps into a team which includes veteran skipper Wendie Renard and the Women's Champion League's all-time top scorer Ada Hegerberg. "It’s been a few weeks now that we've been winning trophies," Hegerberg told reporters, ahead of the final in her homeland. OL won the Coupe de France on 10 May after thrashing Paris Saint-Germain 4-1. On 14 March, they lifted the inaugural Coupe LFFP with a 1-0 defeat over the same opponents. "We need to keep riding this momentum. Wendie and I are just trying to tell the girls that they need to push themselves to the limit," she said. "We're in a final and we're there to win. I’ve been in this situation before and I think we have what it takes. I have confidence in the team." France's top female professional footballers hit out at working conditions Barcelona's Bonmati back Barcelona boss Pere Romeu served on Giraldez's coaching staff before becoming the team's head coach, and has continued Barcelona's glory run – despite the five-month absence of midfielder Aitana Bonmati, who fractured her left fibula during a training session with the Spanish national squad last December. "They were five very hard but gratifying months," said the 28-year-old of her time on the sidelines. The three-time Ballon d'Or winner has recovered from surgery and made her comeback, but it remains to be seen whether she starts on Saturday or will be a substitute at kick-off. "No team has marked European women's football more than Barca in the last few years," said Kessler, mindful that the Catalans are the only team that has proven capable of competing with Lyon over the long-term. New format Saturday's final brings to a close the first season of a reconfigured Champions League. Between 2021 and 2025, the 16 Champions League teams were split into four groups of four. They played home and away games against each other with the top two from each pool progressing to the last-eight knockout stages. Following a revamp for the 2025-26 season, an 18-team league phase now takes place in which each side plays six games, each against different opponents. The top four in the league phase qualify automatically for the quarter-finals. The teams finishing in fifth to 12th place compete in a two-leg play-off to secure the remaining four berths in the quarter-finals. As well as the trophy, the winner will collect a €500,000 bonus for club coffers. The loser will receive €300,000. (with AFP)
