Barcelona will play Lyon in their first ever Champions League final after beating Bayern Munich 1-0 on Sunday to secure a 2-0 aggregate victory. Title-holders Lyon knocked out Chelsea in the semi-final stage.
South Korea’s Ji So-yun scored with a fine free-kick for Chelsea but it was not enough to defeat European powerhouse Lyon who had gone ahead through Eugenie Le Sommer’s well-taken goal that secured a 1-1 draw in the second leg and 3-2 aggregate victory.
Lyon will be attempting to lift the cup for a fourth consecutive time, and sixth overall, when they play the final in Budapest on May 18. But Barca have never gone this far, having lost in the last four to Paris Saint-Germain on their previous best run in 2017.
Mariona Caldentey’s penalty towards the end of the first half proved the difference against Bayern in front of a crowd of 12,764 at Miniestadi, a Barcelona record for a women’s home match.
The one blot on the afternoon was Kheira Hamraoui being sent off in the 70th minute, which left her team hanging on and means she will be suspended for the final.
Bayern captain Melanie Leupolz had earlier rattled the crossbar and Sara Dabritz was among those to miss good chances during a period of sustained pressure after half-time.
Barca keeper Sandra Panos also made an excellent save to deny a header from Dominika Skorvankova and as time ran out for Bayern, frustration grew, with their coach Thomas Worle sent off for dissent.
The result might have been more emphatic had the Catalans been more clinical late on but it took nothing away from their celebrations, as players and staff raced onto the pitch at the final whistle.
With AFP inputs