Dua raksasa sepak bola Eropa, Barcelona dan OL Lyonnes, bakal bertarung dalam babak final Liga Champions Wanita UEFA di Stadion Ullevaal, Oslo, pada Sabtu, 23 Mei 2026 pukul 17.00 BST.
Pertandingan ini menjadi pertemuan keempat bagi kedua klub di partai puncak dalam delapan tahun terakhir, dengan Lyon memenangi final tahun 2019 dan 2022, sedangkan Barcelona unggul pada edisi 2024.
Gelandang OL Lyonnes, Lindsey Heaps, berpeluang mengukir sejarah sebagai pesepak bola Amerika Serikat pertama yang memenangi dua gelar kompetisi ini sebelum dirinya pindah ke Denver Summit.
"I don't really like to think about my time ending at OL Lyonnes," kata Heaps kepada UEFA.
"But the fact that we made it to this final was a little extra-special for me, as my last Champions League game will be a Champions League final, so I'm very thankful for that."
Heaps yang telah mencetak 22 gol untuk Lyon menyatakan kebanggaannya atas pencapaian tim sepanjang musim ini.
"It feels incredible to be going back to another Champions League final," kata Heaps kepada UEFA.
"It's a bit surreal and also a very proud moment because I think this team has been together throughout the entire season and all our goals and dreams were to make it here."
Analis CBS Sports, Jen Beattie, menilai raihan trofi kedua bakal memperkuat posisi Heaps di jajaran gelandang elite dunia.
"Without a doubt," kata Beattie kepada GOAL.
"I think you know there's one to be captaining the U.S., but then to go and create that kind of history for one of the best European teams, and a team with already so much history, and then to go and sort of create your own history, just shows how special she is as a person, how special she is as a player."
Beattie menambahkan bahwa kepastian masa depan Heaps menuju Denver membuat laga final ini menjadi dorongan terakhir yang sangat emosional.
"I think this will be an emotional one," ujar Beattie.
"It's nice when you know your future. Obviously, she's heading to Denver after the final of the season, so it's kind of one last push to really etch her name in history."
Di kubu lawan, bintang Barcelona Alexia Putellas menegaskan tingginya tuntutan di dalam klub yang selalu memaksa para pemain tampil melampaui batas.
"At Barcelona, the demands are always at the highest level, so you're in a constant state of not being satisfied, and that pushes you to your limits," kata Putellas kepada UEFA.
"That's how I believe you have to be, or at least how I need to be at this club – always striving for excellence and constantly pushing yourself to be better."
Putellas yang terlibat dalam 92 sekuens serangan Barcelona musim ini menambahkan bahwa tekanan tinggi tersebut telah membentuk ketangguhan tim.
"An image of solidarity and continuous effort, this level of pressure inevitably builds resilience," ucap Putellas.
"It gives you a sense of greatness. When Champions League matchdays come around, you get the feeling that it's an important and big day; it gives you the feeling that it's something special and different."
Mengingat reputasi kedua tim, Putellas memprediksi pertandingan di Oslo akan berlangsung sangat ketat.
"Because it's a final against a team like Lyon, I think it's difficult to predict what's going to happen," tutur Putellas.
"All I know is that it'll be a very close match and, ultimately, we're the two best teams in Europe, so it's going to be a great game."
Pelatih OL Lyonnes, Jonatan Giraldez, yang pernah menangani Barcelona pada periode 2021-2024, menganggap laga ini sebagai sebuah kehormatan pribadi.
"I feel privileged to face Barcelona as I'm grateful for the experience I had there and I wish them the best -- except [on Saturday] when we have to win. I feel privileged because I have the opportunity to be part of another Champions League final," kata Giraldez dilansir dari Vavel.
"Doing this is the thing I enjoy the most and being in the final is emotional and motivational. I'm grateful to football for the opportunities it has given me and having the chance to be in another final is a dream for me."
Giraldez menegaskan bahwa target utama timnya di Oslo adalah keluar sebagai juara, bukan sekadar mencapai final.
"Barcelona have taken headlines in recent finals, but this is a very equal final. It is a final involving two rival teams with top levels in their squads, regardless of the history. Our ambition is to win," kata Giraldez.
"Reaching the final is really nothing, honestly. I think that would be dreaming small and reaching the final is not enough. If we are here, it's because we have the ambition of winning [on Saturday.] There's no other word and no other message in the dressing room."
Sementara itu, gelandang Lyon Damaris Egurrola menjelaskan bahwa atmosfer kompetisi Eropa sudah ditanamkan sejak hari pertama ia bergabung di klub Prancis tersebut.
"I think so. I remember my first final: many of the more experienced players told me to enjoy the week, because on match day, everything is focused on preparing for the game. But during the week, of course, you’re preparing too, and it’s important to try to savour the moment. That’s what I do now," kata Egurrola kepada Flashscore.
"I also try to pass that on to the new players, to those with less experience, so they can enjoy this week too. It’s something unique and beautiful to experience: the way the week starts, up to the moment we travel to Oslo, in this case, when we’re all together until the day of the final, and then we play."
Egurrola menilai adaptasi taktik di bawah arahan staf kepelatihan baru berjalan sangat mulus sejak awal musim.
"I don’t think it’s changed much. We’re lucky to have an incredible squad this year, with lots of talented new players, a mix of more experienced players who have been here a long time, a new coach and new staff, so of course, there are different ideas," jelas Egurrola.
"I think it’s been a perfect combination. We understood each other very quickly at the start of the season, and that’s why we’re performing so well at the end of the season."
Mengenai kekalahan Lyon dari Barcelona di Bilbao pada final 2024, Egurrola enggan terlalu banyak mengevaluasi masa lalu.
"I’m not really a fan of talking about past finals, but I think everyone saw that we weren’t at our best in Bilbao. We didn’t win our duels, and that’s what a final is about: it starts with those individual battles all over the pitch. We weren’t up to it," ungkap Egurrola.
"They made the difference at two key moments. They scored at a very tough time for us, and we couldn’t come back. But that’s in the past. Now, we’re only focused on this final."
Egurrola menganggap kehadiran Giraldez sebagai keuntungan besar karena sang pelatih memahami karakteristik pemain Barcelona secara mendalam.
"Yes, we’re really lucky to have him as our coach. We’ve all learned a lot. We’ve grown a lot as a team. He’s brought new ideas, especially for these big matches," kata Egurrola.
"We’re really fortunate to have all his experience, and also the fact that he spent a long time with the other team. He knows every player in detail, and that’s obviously an advantage for us."
Menurut Egurrola, ambisi memenangi trofi ini selalu terasa di setiap sesi latihan Lyon.
"I can tell you that the first day I arrived in Lyon, it was the first thing I heard about: the Champions League. You feel it at every training session, even during a warm-up, even in a simple rondo: everyone gives their all thinking about that trophy, imagining the moment we lift it," ujar Egurrola.
"The other day, we were talking about those moments that, over time, fade a bit from memory, but we were just recalling that feeling of lifting this kind of trophy. It’s something incredible. We’re lucky to have a lot of players in the team who have already lifted several Champions Leagues. I’m very grateful to them, because they also explained to me how to handle the weeks before a final, how to enjoy the process."
Ia menuturkan bahwa pengalaman bermain di laga puncak membantunya membimbing para pemain muda Lyon.
"This is my third final now, and I can enjoy it myself and try to pass that on to the younger players, to those with less experience, so they can enjoy it too. Because it doesn’t happen every year. We’d like it to, but the level of the Champions League is incredible; it gets harder every year," lanjut Egurrola.
"We’re really lucky, and I think we deserve to be in the final. So we also have to savour this moment."
Egurrola menyimpulkan bahwa pertarungan di sektor lini tengah akan menjadi penentu utama kemenangan dalam pertandingan final kali ini.
"For me, it’s key in every match, no matter the opponent: whoever dominates the midfield has a better chance of winning. Even more so in this kind of game, against a team that’s really strong in midfield, with incredible players. But so do we. We have an exceptional midfield," tutur Egurrola.
"I know them really, really well because I played with them in the Spanish youth national team. It’s going to be very interesting. They’ve played together for a long time, so they have a lot of instinctive passes, they know exactly where to find their teammate."
"Bagaimanapun juga, we also have our strengths to develop our game, to keep the ball. I know we’re capable of it. I think dominating the midfield will be decisive in this final," pungkas Egurrola.
