Barcelona defend Champions League title with win over Lyon in final

Second-half strikes by Ballon d'Or winners Aitana Bonmati and Alexia Putellas inspired Barcelona’s Women’s Champions League title defence and a maiden quadruple with a 2-0 victory over Lyon in Spain.

Bonmati, named the best women’s footballer in the world last year, broke the deadlock in the 63rd minute before Putellas, who took the captain’s armband when she was brought on in the third minute of stoppage time, ensured her club’s name would be etched onto the trophy for the third time in their history.

It was the first time Barca, fielding a line-up that included England midfielder Keira Walsh and a particularly in-form Lucy Bronze, had ever beaten the French champions in five times of asking, doing so in front of a record-breaking crowd of 50,827 for a Women’s Champions League final at Bilbao’s San Mames Stadium.

Emma Hayes had hoped to conclude her 12 years at Chelsea with victory in this final, the one trophy that eluded the new United States manager, before her move across the pond.

But the Blues came up just short of their second Champions League showpiece, and it was Hayes’ hotly-tipped potential successor, Sonia Bompastor, whose Lyon side could not find their way past Chelsea’s last-four executioners for what would have been a ninth title in their history.

The French league champions were nearly gifted an opener when Bronze’s attempt to clear a Lyon header skimmed her own crossbar, while Barca almost pulled ahead before the break when Christiane Endler was able to block Patricia Guijarro’s effort from a tight angle, but the rebound took a dangerous deflection off the keeper’s team-mate before it was cleared off the line by an alert Selma Bacha.

Lyon perhaps should have taken the lead when captain Wendie Renard could not