He suffered, but FC Barcelona lifted their second Champions League in Eindhoven. Wolfsburg wiped the blaugrana off the map in the first half with goals from Pajor and Popp. Doubts and ghosts of Turin appeared. It seemed that the Blaugrana had not yet learned to play finals, but a 20-minute comeback to start the second half showed that they had indeed matured. Patri Guijarro, with a double, became MVP of the final and Fridolina Rolfö completed the job. A professional victory, one of those that build legends. Barça reigns in Europe again.
If in Turin it took Amandine Henry six minutes to bring the Blaugrana down to earth, in Eindhoven Wolfsburg only had four to show that Barça still have great finals left. Against a Wolfsburg that imposed their game, the blaugrana made water in defense -where the first goal came from-, they were blocked in the construction -drown by the individual marking that Stroot raised- and they rushed in attack -unable to find a goal that I put them in the game.
The public at the Philips Stadion had not finished sitting down when Ewa Pajor gave the surprise. A rude mistake by a Lucy Bronze who would have to recover from her mistake led the Polish to leave with the ball towards the goal of Paños. The top scorer in the Champions League would not think twice and she fired a shot from the front that was close to the post that the goalkeeper from Alicante touched, but could not stop.
Minute 4 and 0-1. It was the moment of the truth. Had this Barça matured? The answer was revealed before the end of the first half, when Alex Popp appeared to make it 2-0 in a play with the Wolfsburg seal. A header from the German captain with which he equaled Ada Hegerberg (Lyon) as the only footballers to have scored in four Champions League finals.
The first 45 minutes of Barça were to forget. Giráldez had opted for Mariona as false '9', placing Salma Paralluelo on the left wing. The idea was to look for the back of Wilms with his speed, just like Graham Hansen on the right with Rauch. It worked for Norway. As in last season's clashes with the Germans, the winger outplayed a powerless Rauch time and time again. Paralluelo, on the other hand, had a hard time adapting, making it clear that he still lacks experience in this type of match. He did not convince his coach either, a Jonatan Giráldez unable to hide his anger on the bench. Minutes before the break, he sent Geyse and Alexia Putellas to warm up, who was received by the stands with a standing ovation.
Barça desperately needed the break to come. And as if by magic, the team that appeared in the second half was another. Mariona warned with a powerful shot that Frohms saved. It was the prelude to the epic comeback for the blaugrana, who turned the score around in twenty minutes, led by a successful Patri Guijarro. The midfielder from the Balearic Islands pierced the Wolfsburg goal three minutes after the match resumed after a great play by Graham Hansen on the right, with an intelligent Aitana Bonmatí, who let the ball pass enabling Patri's arrival. With no time for the wolves to react, the blaugrana would once again send the ball into the back of the net, finishing off at will in the face of the passivity of the German defense.
Barça seemed to have found that maturity that they claimed to have acquired with respect to the debacle in Turin, but the most difficult thing was missing: persevere. Wolfsburg's legs did not tremble when they conceded the tie and continued to believe in their chances on the counter. After a few minutes trying to put fear into the body of the blaugrana, Rolfö appeared to complete the comeback in minute 71. A defensive error by the wolves that left the ball for Mariona, who put the tip of her boot in, Patri did not arrive due to Little to finish off, but Fridolina Rolfö didn't think twice and put Barça ahead for the first time in the entire game. A goal that they celebrated in the corner with an euphoric Alexia Putellas, who was warming up on the wing waiting for her moment. It didn't reach 90 minutes, but with 7 minutes added, Mollet's team had time to suffer from inside with Bremer's last shot, which Paños saved just before Foster signaled the end of the game. The blaugrana take the thorn out of Turin and return home with the cup.
