Lyon Women beat Wolfsburg to win fifth straight Champions League title

Updated: May 17, 2023, 05:14 am
Lyon beat Wolfsburg to win their fifth straight and seventh overall UEFA Women's Champions League final.
GABRIEL BOUYS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Striker Eugenie Le Sommer scored one goal and made another as Lyon beat VfL Wolfsburg 3-1 to win the UEFA Women's Champions League for an unprecedented fifth time in a row.

Called up to the starting line-up in place of the suspended Nikita Parris, Le Sommer collected the rebound from her own shot and swept the ball home in the 25th minute to put the French side ahead in San Sebastian.

With Wolfsburg struggling to hold on to the ball, Saki Kumagai struck a hammer blow for Lyon two minutes before halftime with a superb left-foot strike from the edge of the box to make it 2-0.

Alexandra Popp threw the German side a lifeline 10 minutes into the second half, reacting quickest to head Ewa Pajor's cross into an empty net and spark the game into life again.

Wolfsburg looked much more threatening in the second half as Danish striker Pernille Harder, who is reported to be joining English Women's Super League side Chelsea this week, caused havoc by dropping deeper to get on the ball.

But despite a much-improved performance in the second half, Icelandic midfielder Sara Bjoerk Gunnarsdottir put the game beyond doubt when she steered home Le Sommer's shot in the 88th minute to secure Lyon's fifth successive Champions League.

"People said it was the best time to play us because we were missing so many players, but we were the best side in the first half by a long shot, and the game was almost finished at halftime," Lyon defender Lucy Bronze said following the win.

"We've definitely got the strongest squad in the world."

It was the seventh time that French international teammates Le Sommer, Renard and goalkeeper Sarah Bouhaddi have been crowned club champions of Europe.

"It's actually quite difficult to believe we have managed our fifth straight title, to be honest. We're super proud of ourselves, it was a very difficult competition ... if you sign for Lyon, you sign up to be a winner," Bouhaddi said.

Despite Wolfsburg's best efforts, there is little to suggest that any other European club can knock Lyon off their perch, and Renard intends to enjoy the club's success.

"It's hard to be a winner, you have to work extremely hard. You battle year in, year out for this trophy. We're bringing it back. We're bringing it back for the fans," she said.