Lyon’s Dzsenifer Marozsán, captain of Germany, was born in Budapest – so a victory here tonight would be doubly precious. “I can play the first time at home in front of my family,” she says. “It’s my dream, it was my dream, but now it’s true.”
So Toni Duggan starts for Barca, most likely on the left of a front three. Here’s our correspondent Suzanne Wrack with an in-depth piece on how the England forward has got on in the two years since her move from Manchester City:
The teams are in!
Lyon: Bouhaddi, Bronze, Renard, Henry, Majri, Le Sommer, Marozsan, Van de Sanden, Hegerberg, Fischlock, Mbock. Subs: Weiss, Bacha, Kumagai, Cascarino, Buchanan, Jaimes, Simon.
Barcelona: Panos, Maria Leon, Losada, T Marta, Mariona, Alexia, Aitana, Leila, Duggan, A Pereira, Martens. Subs: Gemma, Van der Gragt, Melanie, Andressa Alves, Patri, Oshoala, Andonova.
Preamble
There’s dominance, and there’s Dominance. And in the case of Olympique Lyonnais Féminin, we’re very much in the realm of the latter. Indeed, we have been for some time. Some basics facts: 13 straight domestic league titles, 10 domestic cup wins since 2003 and – get this – two league defeats in nine seasons. A Champions League victory in Budapest tonight would be their fourth in a row, and their sixth in nine years. Reynald Pedros’ team are reaching a level of supremacy not just unparalleled in women’s football, nor even in all football – but in all top-level sport, anywhere, any time.
Barcelona, then, have their work cut out. Their hunger for a trophy will be deep after finishing second in their domestic league for a fourth season on the trot. Surprisingly, this is their first appearance in the Champions League final. Given that their task tonight is to thwart the unthwartable, it’s in their favour that they have a hell of a defence.
English viewers can look forward to a subplot to two, Toni Duggan likely to lead the line for Barca, and Lucy Bronze and Izzy Christiansen among Lyon’s number (although the latter is a major doubt). The trio spent three years as teammates at Manchester City, while Bronze and Duggan will team up again at the World Cup this summer.
In reaching this season’s final, Lyon have clocked up an aggregate scoreline of 29-5, and their all-star squad contains the captains of France, Germany and Japan. Oh, and the inaugural Ballon d’Or winner up front – Ada Hegerberg is averaging a shade over a goal a game this season. Yet standing in their way today is Spain’s most miserly defence who have not conceded a goal in this competition since the round of 32, seven games ago. There’s no doubt Lyon are an unstoppable force. The question is, can Barcelona present them with an immovable object?
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