VfL Wolfsburg Women suffered a 3-2 defeat against FC Barcelona in the UEFA Women’s Champions League final on Saturday afternoon. The She-Wolves held a 2-0 lead at half-time through goals from Ewa Pajor (3’) and Alexandra Popp (37’) in front of a sold-out 34,120 crowd at the Philips Stadion in Eindhoven, but a quickfire double from Patricia Guijarro (48’, 50’) early in the second half turned the game on its head. Former Wolfsburg player Fridolina Rolfö scored the winner (70’) to complete the comeback for the Spanish side.
The Green-and-Whites’ earlier DFB Cup triumph means that the team finishes the season with at least one piece of silverware for the 11th consecutive year. However, after ending the campaign as runners-up in the Bundesliga, Tommy Stroot’s side are not automatically guaranteed a place in the UWCL group stage for 2023/24, but will instead be in the two-legged play-off round.
The goals
- 0-1 Pajor (3’): Pajor wins the ball off Lucy Bronze, strides forward and smashes an unstoppable shot into the net from the edge of the penalty area.
- 0-2 Popp (37’): Pajor crosses from the left into the middle, where she finds Popp to head the She-Wolves 2-0 in front.
- 1-2 Guijarro (48’): Guijarro plays a one-two with Caroline Graham Hansen to get behind the VfL defence and pokes the ball in from a central position.
- 2-2 Guijarro (50’): Suddenly it’s all happening far too quickly for the She-Wolves. Barcelona’s next attack comes down the right and once again ends with the Spanish side celebrating as a teasing cross into the middle finds Guijarro, who beats Merle Frohms with a header.
- 3-2 Rolfö (70’): Lynn Willms’ attempted clearance hits Kathrin Hendrich inside the penalty area. After one Barcelona is unable to capitalise, the ball falls kindly for ex-VfL player Rolfö, who finishes and completes Barcelona’s comeback.
