Champions League: in the final, the Lyonnaises can make history against Wolsburg

The Lyonnaises are once again in the final of the Champions League, where they will face Sunday, August 30 in Saint-Sébastien Wolfsburg, in a match that will have an air of déjà vu. They had already shown themselves to be up to their rank by eliminating Paris-SG in the semifinals.

For Lyon and Wolfsburg, it will be their third confrontation in the final. The German Louves won the first round in 2013, before a double revenge for the Lyonnaises in 2016 and 2018. At the top of European women's football, the two clubs have shared eight of the last nine crowns.

Welcome to #UWCLfinal weekend😍

Who are you backing? 🏆

🇩🇪 @VfLWob_Frauen
🇫🇷 @OLfeminin pic.twitter.com/NfqGP6q2Bc

"I think it will be a tactical battle that will be played out on the small details. Wolfsburg are used to reaching the semi-finals and qualifying for the final. They are a team that looks like us because they win their championship season after season. ", summed up goalkeeper Sarah Bouhaddi in an interview with the UEFA website.

"The mentality of both teams is very strong. Both teams will leave everything on the pitch. I think you will see a lot of passion, a really physical game," also described the Icelandic midfielder from Lyon Sara Björk Gunnarsdottir. The 29-year-old knows what she's talking about since she was recruited in July from Wolfsburg.

For Jean-Luc Vasseur, OL coach, this new arrival is a real asset. "We had a little chat with Sara Gunnarsdottir who knows the players well since she was in this Wolfsburg team a few weeks ago. It's an advantage we have. I also have a working staff and my players also know their opponents well, "he explained at a press conference on the eve of this shock.

This is why we're here 💥💚 pic.twitter.com/GvLtNVVOwU

Their best enemies

On paper, the Lyonnaises are favorites. OL will play their 9th Champions League final in 13 appearances in the event, with six wins and two defeats, while Wolfsburg will play their 5th final with two wins and two losses.

For the former Louves player Nadine Kessler, European champion in 2013 against OL, the figures speak for themselves, "but Wolfsburg remains a very difficult team to beat and which has gathered experience by beating Lyon in the past ".

The players of Jean-Luc Vasseur know this. We must be wary of this team which will play without complex, despite its unconvincing semi-final against FC Barcelona (1-0). "We expect a complicated game. A Champions League final is often close and difficult," said captain Wendie Renard. "We know the German teams which are often very athletic. It is up to us to raise our level in this area. To increase intensity, to win the duels, is very important. We are ready to go into battle", a- she insisted.

The defender is well aware that we will have to show another face on Sunday. The Lyonnaises were not particularly sharp in the previous round against PSG (1-0). They stumbled against the Parisian defensive block for a long time, before Wendie Renard did not come to offer his teammates a ticket for the final with a free head in the 67th minute.

🎙 @WRenard before the final of the # UWCL
"We know what to expect, it will be difficult. The last final has been favorable to us. We hope that tomorrow's will have the same outcome. We will do everything for" #WOLOL pic.twitter.com/kR1OoOP6Nq

Important packages

It must be said that the reigning quadruple European champions have to deal with the absence of several executives. After the forfeits of Griedge Mbock and Ada Hegerberg before the tournament, was added the quarter-final injury of experienced midfielder Amandine Henry, very uncertain for the final. English striker Nikita Parris, substitute for Hegerberg, is also suspended after his exclusion against PSG.

But the Fenottes can count on experienced players with Eugénie Le Sommer, fourth top scorer in C1 history (46 goals, two points from the podium), and Jodie Taylor, English rookie from OL Reign in the United States. United, owned by the OL Group.

Even if they do not lack motivation, the Lyonnaises know in addition that they can still make history on Sunday by winning a 5th European title in a row. Only Real Madrid, on the men's side, achieved this feat from 1956 to 1960.

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