Lyon will make it eight UEFA Women's Champions League final appearances in the ten years under this branding and will go for four titles in a row, while Barcelona become the first Spanish side to play in the decider when the pair meet in Budapest on 18 May.



What the coaches say

Log in for free to watch the highlights Best UEFA Women's Champions League final goals

Log in for free to watch the highlights Ada Hegerberg: on the spot

Reynald Pedros, Lyon coach

I think that the first few years that they reached the Champions League final, the players, club and fans enjoyed the experience and we’ve simply been able to get back there. There’s a demand and a willingness from the president and then there’s the fact that each year a really competitive side is assembled to allow us to go as far as possible in the competition and reach the final each season.

I don't think that there’s any need to overdo things in terms of the preparations. The girls know perfectly well how to prepare for it and cope with the occasion. It’s just a case of addressing the small details. I think it's also important to look at the opposition and think about how they’ll play so that the players have the information they need and then it’s a matter of worrying about ourselves and working on our strengths to ensure that we make a big a mark as possible on the final.

Lluís Cortés, Barcelona coach

we’re enjoying every moment and we’ve been preparing for the match for two weeks now, and I’ve told the players that they have to enjoy this preparation so that they can perform at the highest level in the final, which is what we’ve come here for.

[Suspended] Kheira [Hamraoui, formerly of Lyon] has had a great season, especially in Champions League matches, which is why we signed her, because she gives the team an edge in this competition, and, to be honest, it’s a significant loss for the team. However, we have lots of other great players in our squad, who perhaps cannot offer us what Kheira does, but who can certainly give us something different, which is a plus for our team.

Key stats

Log in for free to watch the highlights How Lyon won the 2018 final

Lyon: hold the record for titles (5), consecutive titles (3) and final appearances (8), all since 2010, and have become the first team to reach four finals in a row. They have needed penalties (2016 and 2017) and extra time (2018) in their three straight final triumphs.

Barcelona: are Spain's first representative in the final, joining a list that includes Germany, France, Sweden, Russia, England and Denmark. No club have won both men's and women's UEFA Champions Leagues.

#UWCL head to head

2017/18 quarter-finals

First leg: Lyon 2-1 Barcelona

Second leg: Barcelona 0-1 Lyon (agg: 1-3)



Ada Hegerberg struck with ten minutes left in the first leg after Patri Guijarro had cancelled out Dzsenifer Marozsán's opener. Eugénie Le Sommer got the goal in the return, watched by Barcelona's then-record European crowd of 12,178 (since topped by the 12,764 that saw them beat Bayern to get to this final).

Key players

Log in for free to watch the highlights Players on what would it mean to win the final

Lyon

Ada Hegerberg: the Norwegian forward is approaching 300 senior career goals at the age of 23, having scored a record 15 in last season's UEFA Women's Champions League. The first winner of the women's Ballon d'Or in 2018, she has 41 career goals in this competition.

Wendie Renard: Hegerberg has been part of Lyon's last three European triumphs; captain Renard has featured in all five and the towering defender can also chip in with goals, such as in their first final win of 2011. Currently level with Camille Abily on a record 81 all-time competition appearances.

Barcelona

Lieke Martens: the star of the Netherlands' home UEFA Women's EURO 2017 success brought her attacking flair to Barcelona the same year and has racked up double figures in goals in both of her seasons in Catalonia.

Marta Torrejón: Spain's most-capped player has been at Barcelona since 2013 and is an experienced presence in defence, the stalwart aiding them to seven clean sheets in a row in Europe.

Road to the final

Lyon

Round of 32: Avaldsnes 2-0a, 5-0h (agg: 7-0)

Round of 16: Ajax 4-0a, 9-0h (agg: 13-0)

Quarter-finals: Wolfsburg 2-1h, 4-2a (agg: 6-3)

Semi-finals: Chelsea 2-1h, 1-1a (agg: 3-2)

Barcelona

Round of 32: BIIK-Kazygurt 1-3a, 3-0h (agg: 4-3)

Round of 16: Glasgow City 5-0h, 3-0a (agg: 8-0)

Quarter-finals: LSK Kvinner 3-0h, 1-0a (agg: 4-0)

Semi-finals: Bayern München 1-0a, 1-0h (agg: 2-0)

The ticket launch at the Ferencváros Stadium ©MLSZ

Key facts

Sarah Bouhaddi, Renard and Le Sommer were in all five of Lyon's previous final-winning teams, the competition record.

Bouhaddi and Renard have contested all seven of Lyon's finals (no other players have appeared in more separate finals).

Renard is set to make a record 82nd competition appearance, one ahead of Abily. Saki Kumagai could also be the first Asian to make 50 appearances, and only the third non-European after Shirley Cruz Traña and Marta.

Le Sommer has 42 European goals for Lyon, one shy of the record for a single club in the competition, previously set in last year's final by her now-retired team-mate Abily.

Budapest-born Marozsán of Lyon was in Frankfurt's winning side in 2015 as well as the OL victories of 2017 and 2018.

Barcelona are the 13th different club to get to the final, and hope to be the eighth winner.

Barcelona and their goalkeeper Sandra Paños have kept clean sheets in their last seven European games, not conceding for 660 minutes since going 3-0 down at BIIK-Kaygurt; they have scored 17 unanswered goals since.

Lyon and Barcelona have both already secured their return for next season through their domestic leagues.

OL's Shanice van de Sanden won UEFA Women's EURO 2017 alongside Barcelona's Martens and Stefanie van der Gragt. Van de Sanden and Van de Gragt also won the 2015/16 Eredivisie together at Twente.

Lyon's Lucy Bronze and (injured) Izzy Christiansen will be on the opposite side to their England and former Manchester City team-mate Toni Duggan.

Ex-Lyon player Kheira Hamraoui will miss the final suspended after her red card in Barcelona's semi-final second leg against Bayern.

This is the tenth one-off final under the UEFA Women's Champions League branding, but the first since it moved away from the same city as the men's final. The 2020 final will be at Viola Park, Vienna on Sunday 24 May.

Budapest 2019



Venue: Ferencváros Stadium

Tickets: On sale now

Match officials

Referee: Anastasia Pustovoitova (Russia)

Assistant referees: Ekaterina Kurochkina (Russia) & Petruta Claudia Iugulescu (Romania)

Fourth official: Katalin Kulcsár (Hungary)

Reserve assistant referee: Katalin Emese Török (Hungary)

Past finals



UEFA Women's Champions League

2017/18: Wolfsburg (GER) 1-4 aet Lyon (FRA) – Kyiv

2016/17: Lyon (FRA) 0-0 aet, 7-6 pens Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) – Cardiff

2015/16: Wolfsburg (GER) 1-1 aet, 3-4 pens Lyon (FRA) – Reggio Emilia

2014/15: FFC Frankfurt (GER) 2-1 Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) – Berlin

2013/14: Tyresö (SWE) 3-4 Wolfsburg (GER) – Lisbon

2012/13: Wolfsburg (GER) 1-0 Lyon (FRA) – London (Chelsea)

2011/12: Lyon (FRA) 2-0 FFC Frankfurt (GER) – Munich

2010/11: Lyon (FRA) 2-0 Turbine Potsdam (GER) – London (Fulham)

2009/10: Lyon (FRA) 0-0 aet, 6-7 pens Turbine Potsdam (GER) – Getafe

UEFA Women's Cup

2008/09: Zvezda-2005 (RUS) 1-7 agg Duisburg (GER)

2007/08: Umeå (SWE) 3-4 agg FFC Frankfurt (GER)

2006/07: Umeå (SWE) 0-1 agg Arsenal (ENG)

2005/06: Turbine Potsdam (GER) 2-7 agg FFC Frankfurt (GER)

2004/05: Djurgården (SWE) 1-5 agg Turbine Potsdam (GER)

2003/04: Umeå (SWE) 8-0 agg FFC Frankfurt (GER)

2002/03: Umeå (SWE) 7-1 agg Fortuna Hjørring (DEN)

2001/02: Umeå (SWE) 0-2 FFC Frankfurt (GER) – Frankfurt

