Barcelona Stages Comeback to Win Second Champions League Title in Women’s Football

EINDHOVEN, Netherlands (AP) — Midfielder Patricia Guijarro unleashed a somersault in the second half as Barcelona turned around after trailing 2-0 to beat Wolfsburg 3-2 to win their second League title. female champions.

“We don’t make it easy for ourselves,” admitted Barcelona and England defender Lucy Bronze after winning her fourth Champions League title. She won three years in a row with Lyon.

Fridolina Rolfö capped Barcelona’s somersault by shooting calmly after there was a mix-up in the Wolfsburg defense to seal the game in the 70th minute.

Wolfsburg led 2-0 at halftime thanks to goals from Ewa Pajor and Alexandra Popp. But Barça did not stop believing that they could win.

“We were never worried about scoring three goals,” added Bronze.

This is the second European trophy for the Catalan team – the first was in 2021 – in four finals appearances since 2019 in front of 33,147 fans at PSV Stadium to set an attendance record for a women’s game in the Netherlands.

Guijarro scored at 48 and 50 minutes to reverse a first half in which Wolfsburg pressed and scored two goals with a clinical counterattack.

Wolfsburg went ahead after three minutes, when the tournament’s top scorer, Pajor, grabbed the ball near Barcelona’s penalty area and fired on goal, although goalkeeper Sandra Paños grazed the ball, failing to stop it. With this goal, Pajor reached nine goals in the competition.

Wolfsburg increased the gap when veteran Alexandra Popp dove between two defenders and headed in a cross from Pajor in the 37th minute. Popp tied Ada Hegerberg’s record for scoring in four finals.

The Wolfsburg goalkeeper made sure her team went clean at half-time by running to avoid a shot from Salma Paralluelo in added time.

But he couldn’t stop Barcelona’s attack in the second half.

With Barcelona up front and the minutes ticking down, manager Jonatan Girláldez called on two-time Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas, who recently recovered from an ACL injury. Barça fans cheered on Putellas when she came in to replace Aitana Bonmatí.

Putellas accepted the trophy from England manager Sarina Eiegman after the Wolfsburg players put up an honor guard for their rivals.