Barcelona Femeni went into Saturday's UEFA Women's Champions League final as the defending champions and fresh off a perfect season in the Spanish league, but Lyon wasn't convinced. As far as French power is concerned, the continent remains theirs.
The now-eight-time European champions demonstrated it in Turin, Italy, on Saturday, leaping out to a 3–0 lead in the final en route to a 3–1 victory that maintains the club's status as Europe's finest side.
Catarina Macario's tap-in gave her the first U.S. international to score in a European Champions League final, capping a 33-minute blitz that began the match. The Lyon XI included both Macario and her USWNT colleague Lindsey Horan.
Amandine Henry opened the scoring with a rocket in the first minute, which was quickly followed by a header from Ada Hegerberg, who now has 59 goals in the competition.
Alexia Putellas, the reigning women's Ballon d'Or winner, pulled one back for Barcelona before halftime, providing some hope for the club's title defence.
In the 58th minute, Patri summoned her inner Carli Lloyd and tried to lob the goalie from the centre circle, narrowing the gap to one goal. Patri's effort, unlike Lloyd's in the 2019 Women's World Cup final, hit the crossbar.
After being humbled by Lyon in the 2019 final, Barcelona reinforced its status last season with a blowout of Chelsea in the final, clearly learning its lesson and taking a step into the elite echelon.
Lyon scored in the fifth, 14th, 19th, and 30th minutes of that game, with Hegerberg scoring the final three for a hat trick. Three years later, things had slightly improved.
Lyon's sixth title in the last seven seasons and eighth in the last 12, extending the club's all-time European successes on the women's stage record.