Lyon got the Women's Champions League final under way in Oslo, and the opening minutes looked exactly like a meeting between two sides that know each other too well. Melchie Dumornay tried to slip a pass in behind the Barcelona defence for Ada Hegerberg to run on to, but Cata Coll sprinted off her line to clear the danger before it could turn into a chance.
Barcelona were chasing a fourth title in their sixth consecutive final, while Lyon were appearing in their 12th, and the two clubs were meeting in the showpiece for a record-equalling fourth time. That history was already hanging over the game, but so was form: Barcelona had arrived with last six games reading WWWWDW, most recent result first, and had beaten Bayern Munich in the semi-final by overwhelming opponents in wide areas. Lyon had earned their place by beating Arsenal.
The first flashpoint came almost immediately when Lindsey Heaps was penalised for an early foul on Alexia Putellas. Rachel Brown-Finnis said the referee was letting things go in the opening exchanges and wanted advantages to be given so the match could flow, a sign that the official was prepared to keep the final moving despite the contact. It suited neither side to have the tempo broken too often, but both were willing to push the line.
Barcelona looked to answer through their set-piece threat when Mapi Leon swung a free-kick into the Lyon box from deep, though Putellas' header dropped well wide. The Spanish side's semi-final success had come from attacking the flanks, where they tortured Bayern Munich, but Brown-Finnis said they had not yet really gone after Lyon one against one, with Salma Paralluelo and Caroline Graham Hansen coming more infield.
The physical edge kept building. Ewa Pajor clattered into Lyon full-back Selma Bacha while trying to win the ball, and Paralluelo drove forward before going to ground as she looked to feed Pajor. None of it stopped the rhythm for long, and that is what made the opening stretch so revealing: this was not a final likely to be decided by caution, but by whichever side could impose its patterns without losing its nerve. Barcelona had the more familiar route into the game, through control and wide overloads, while Lyon were trying to turn the contest into a scrap they know how to survive. The team that settled that balance first was always likely to control the night.
