Lieke Martens failed to prolong the Champions League title with the football players of FC Barcelona on Saturday. The Orange international lost with her team in the final in Turin against Olympique Lyon: 1-3.
Martens did not have a leading role in the well-filled Allianz Stadium, usually the home of Juventus. The winger recently returned from injury was unable to do much as a substitute on behalf of Barcelona.
Damaris Egurrola and Daniëlle van de Donk, Martens’ fellow internationals at opponent Lyon, stayed on the bench for ninety minutes. Like Martens, Van de Donk was only just fit again after a serious injury.
Lyon had a flashy start and took the lead after only six minutes thanks to a long shot by Amandine Henry. Then the French club pushed through and after 33 minutes this resulted in a large 0-3 lead thanks to goals from Ada Hegerberg and Catarina Macario.
Shortly before half-time, Barcelona did something back through star player Alexia Putellas, but the Catalan team was unable to reduce the tension definitively. As a result, ‘Barça’ failed to prolong the title after last year’s first Champions League win.
For Olympique Lyon it meant the eighth Champions League final victory. The French top club is the record holder with that number, followed by FFC Frankfurt (with four final victories).
Lieke Martens came in as a substitute.
Lieke Martens came in as a substitute.
Photo: Getty Images
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