Barcelona Hadapi Olympique Lyonnais pada Final Liga Champions Wanita di Oslo

Barcelona dijadwalkan bertanding melawan Olympique Lyonnais dalam babak final Liga Champions Wanita UEFA di Stadion Ullevaal, Oslo, Norwegia, pada Sabtu, 23 Mei 2026 pukul 17.00 BST.

Pertemuan ini menjadi kali keempat dalam delapan tahun terakhir kedua raksasa Eropa tersebut berhadapan di laga puncak, setelah Lyon menang pada 2019 dan 2022, sementara Barcelona unggul pada 2024. Dilansir dari FourFourTwo, Barcelona menembus final keenam secara beruntun usai menundangkan Bayern Munich dengan agregat 5-3, sedangkan Lyon bangkit mengalahkan juara bertahan Arsenal di semifinal.

Pertandingan ini juga menjadi momen krusial bagi kapten tim nasional wanita Amerika Serikat, Lindsey Heaps, yang akan memainkan laga terakhirnya bersama Lyon sebelum pindah ke Denver Summit di akhir musim Eropa. Heaps berpeluang menjadi pemain Amerika Serikat pertama yang memenangkan dua gelar Liga Champions Wanita setelah sebelumnya meraih trofi pada tahun 2022.

"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."

Pemain lini tengah tersebut tercatat telah mengoleksi 22 gol untuk Lyon, termasuk empat gol di Première Ligue Prancis musim ini dan satu gol di kompetisi Liga Champions. Heaps menyatakan kebanggaannya atas pencapaian tim yang berhasil melangkah jauh hingga ke partai final setelah berjuang sepanjang musim.

"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 dan mantan pemain profesional, Jen Beattie, menilai bahwa pencapaian Heaps bersama Lyon mempertegas statusnya sebagai salah satu gelandang terbaik di dunia sepak bola wanita.

"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 laga final ini akan terasa sangat emosional bagi Heaps yang sudah memiliki kepastian masa depan di Denver setelah kompetisi musim ini berakhir.

"I think this will be an emotional one," kata 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 sisi lain, pelatih Lyon, Jonatan Giraldez, memberikan pandangannya mengenai kekuatan Barcelona, tim yang pernah ia asuh selama tiga tahun antara 2021 hingga 2024 sebelum pindah ke Prancis.

"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 seperti dilansir 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 meski Barcelona mendominasi berita utama di beberapa final terakhir, pertandingan kali ini akan berlangsung sangat seimbang karena mempertemukan dua tim rival dengan skuad level tertinggi.

"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."

Gelandang Lyon, Damaris Egurrola, menyatakan bahwa ambisi mengangkat trofi Liga Champions merupakan budaya yang tertanam kuat dalam kehidupan sehari-hari dan latihan timnya sejak hari pertama ia bergabung.

"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 saat ditanya mengenai cara menikmati pengalaman di tengah tekanan final.

"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 komposisi skuad Lyon musim ini merupakan kombinasi sempurna antara pemain baru berbahan bakat, pemain berpengalaman, serta jajaran staf kepelatihan baru di bawah arahan Giraldez.

"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," kata 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 dari Barcelona pada final tahun 2024 di Bilbao, Egurrola mengakui bahwa timnya saat itu tidak tampil dalam performa terbaik dan kalah dalam duel-duel individu di lapangan.

"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," kata 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 bagi Lyon karena sang pelatih mengetahui detail kemampuan setiap pemain Barcelona dari pengalaman masa lalunya.

"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."

Egurrola memaparkan bagaimana atmosfer kompetisi Eropa ini selalu membakar semangat tim di setiap sesi latihan, bahkan dalam sesi pemanasan sederhana seperti rondo.

"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," kata 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," kata Egurrola.

"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," kata Egurrola.

"We’re really lucky, and I think we deserve to be in the final. So we also have to savour this moment."

Terkait pertempuran taktis di lini tengah melawan para pemain Barcelona yang ia kenal dekat sejak di tim nasional muda Spanyol, Egurrola memprediksi dominasi sektor tengah akan menjadi kunci utama kemenangan.

"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," kata 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," kata Egurrola.

"But 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."

Egurrola menutup dengan menekankan bahwa fleksibilitas dan kesiapan seluruh pemain di dalam skuad menjadi faktor penting yang membawa Lyon melaju hingga ke babak final musim ini.

"Yes, absolutely. No matter who plays, everyone is ready to give their best as soon as they step onto the pitch or start a match. I think that’s what brings you to the big moments of the season, to finals, to winning trophies. The more united we are," kata Egurrola.

Siaran langsung pertandingan final Liga Champions Wanita antara Barcelona dan Lyon ini dapat diakses secara gratis di Inggris melalui BBC iPlayer dan BBC Two, serta tersedia di platform streaming Paramount+ untuk pemirsa di Amerika Serikat.