“Two sides that are not used to losing”: Why Barcelona against Lyon will be a “special” Champions League final – tactical preview

This weekend sees the 2021/2022 Women’s Champions League come to an end, with two giants of the women’s game going up against each other for the biggest prize in European women’s football. Lyon Féminin have undoubtedly been the dominant side in the last decade, having won seven Champions League finals between 2010 and 2020, but there is a new powerhouse emerging in Barcelona Femení, who are now seen as the team to beat around the continent and who are the current holders, having comfortably beaten Chelsea Women last year.

This tactical analysis will provide an insight into what tactics can be expected from each side during the final, breaking down each side’s attacking, defensive and transitional play in turn. The preview will also give a prediction of how Saturday’s game might end up, trying to answer the seemingly impossible question.

Team news

Barcelona Femení will be happy to have Nigeria captain Asisat Oshoala available, with the striker having recovered in the last few weeks from the knee injury sustained whilst training on international duty, and she is likely to be in the matchday squad in some way. Left-back Melanie Serrano may also get on the pitch at some point during the 90 minutes, given that it will be her final outing in a Barcelona shirt before retiring. Otherwise, head coach Jonatan Giráldez has no major concerns and will be able to pick a strong starting XI and bench as he looks to seal a second successive Champions League title for the club.

Lyon Féminin also have no major issues in their squad, with head coach Sonia Bompastor opting to rest key players in recent weeks even though the Division 1 Féminine title is not yet mathematically in their hands, so it is clear that she has been planning ahead for this game for some time. The likes of USA midfielder Catarina Macario and France centre-back Wendie Renard will be essential to their hopes of silencing Barcelona’s biggest threats and will need to be at the top of their game, whilst left-back Selma Bacha could be an unsung hero if she is able to get on the front foot. One of the main questions surrounding Lyon’s selection is whether to start Ada Hegerberg or Melvine Malard at the top, or both.

Barcelona Femenís attack

Barcelona Femení’s attacking play revolves around getting numbers into the final third and giving the opposition as little time to prepare defensively as possible, and this is a big reason for teams finding it difficult to keep them out over the last couple of campaigns.

What makes this work well is that the full-backs are constantly encouraged to move up the field and into spaces behind the opposing defenders, with Marta Torrejón demonstrating here against Wolfsburg Frauen how this gives the team extra passing options and enables them to keep the ball moving forwards when they have the momentum.

What is notable in this situation is that Barcelona’s attacking movements are made almost without the opposition realising that they are happening, which is the key point to make here because it means that defenders don’t notice until it is too late for them to react. In this game, Wolfsburg were undone plenty of times because they kept leaving gaps open, and Lyon Féminin will need to be aware of not advancing too high up the pitch and allowing Barcelona to exploit them in the same way.