Latest news with #EstádioJoséAlvalade
BBC News
23-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Women's Champions League final build-up: Arsenal & Barcelona news conferences
Update: Date: 18:04 BST Title: Champions League trophy stolen Content: Arsenal v Barcelona (Sat, 17:00 BST) Emma SandersBBC Sport women's football news reporter at Estádio José Alvalade We've just heard about a crazy story... On Saturday, Sporting were crowned Portuguese champions after beating Vitoria Guimaraes 2-0 in the Primeira Liga. They were playing at the Estádio José Alvalade - where we are now for the press conferences - and fans celebrated heavily. In their excitement, they broke through to a trophy cabinet area where they stole what they believed to be the newly-won Portuguese title. Instead, they went home with the Women's Champions League trophy, that was brought here in preparation for tomorrow's final. Realising what they had done, the Sporting fans rang up to apologise and brought the trophy back! Update: Date: 18:02 BST Title: Three in a row? Content: Arsenal v Barcelona (Sat, 17:00 BST) Barcelona are looking to cement their legacy and extend their dominance in Europe. They are competing in a sixth Champions League final in total and their fifth in a row as they bid to become only the second team to lift the trophy three years in a row. Arsenal, on the other hand, have reached just their second Champions League final. No English side has won the competition since the Gunners lifted the trophy in their first final. Can they make it two wins from two? Update: Date: 17:59 BST Title: Olá! Content: Arsenal v Barcelona (Sat, 17:00 BST) This time tomorrow the Women's Champions League final be under way in Lisbon. Will it be a third successive European crown for Barcelona, or a first in 18 years for Arsenal? There's plenty to get stuck into before Saturday's showpiece event so let's get to it.
Associated Press
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
Barcelona seeks 3-peat of Women's Champions League titles when it faces Arsenal in Lisbon final
LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Barcelona is aiming to complete a three-peat of Women's Champions League titles and win its fourth European crown in five years when it faces Arsenal in Lisbon on Saturday. Barcelona is out to reaffirm its status as the dominant force in European women's soccer after it finally beat Lyon and successfully defended its title in last year's final. Its possession-hungry and high-scoring attack is led from the midfield by Ballon d'Or winners Aitana Bonmatí and Alexia Putellas and several other members of Spain's World Cup-winning team that beat England in the 2023 final. Barcelona will be play its sixth Champions League final in seven seasons and a record-equaling fifth in a row at Lisbon's 50,000-capacity Estádio José Alvalade. The Catalan club has the chance to become the only team other than Lyon to lift the European Cup in three consecutive years. Standing in its way is an Arsenal team that has excelled as a spoiler this campaign and hopes it can pull off another upset and win its second European title. 'They're a fantastic team and they've obviously got the recent history to prove it,' Arsenal defender Leah Williamson said about Barcelona in the buildup to the final. 'We respect them a lot, but it's a final, so everybody turns up and everybody gives their best.' Barcelona's weapons First-year Barcelona coach Pere Romeu has a side that can hit from all angles with multiple scoring options. It leads all the major team statistics in attack: most goals scored with 44 — to Arsenals' 25 — the highest possession, best pass accuracy and most shot attempts. Barcelona forward Claudia Pina leads the competition in scoring with 10 goals, ahead of Arsenal pair Mariona Caldentey, who joined from the Spanish club last summer, and Alessia Russo with seven each. Bonmatí and teammate Patri Guijarro lead the competition with five assists each. Barcelona added to its winning squad in the offseason by signing Poland striker Ewa Pajor, who went on to lead the Spanish league with 23 goals. Pajor, 28, is seeking her first European title after losing four finals with former club Wolfsburg, including the 2023 final to Barcelona after leading 2-0. 'The final is played in the details and we can prepare the details before the game,' Pajor said. 'What I have also learned – because I've played in four finals – you have to be there in the first minute until the end.' Not unbeatable Barcelona has rolled to a sixth consecutive Liga F title and has reached another Copa de la Reina final, but at the same time it has proven beatable. Barcelona's home unbeaten run in Liga F came to an end after a record 64 games this season, and it lost to Real Madrid for the first time in 19 clasicos since its top rival founded a women's team. It also started the Champions League with a rare group stage loss to Manchester City. 'We lost a couple more games than we are used to and we lost some games that hurt more than others,' Barcelona forward Caroline Graham said, adding about the City defeat: 'A lot of people thought that our run to be good in the Champions League was a bit over. That was a motivation to show that we still are good and that we can still compete against the best.' Gunning from behind Arsenal remains the only English team to win the biggest title in women's club soccer after it won UEFA's Women's Cup in 2007 when it beat Umea, two years before the tournament was reformatted and renamed the Women's Champions League. Arsenal may be the underdog, but it is likely comfortable with that role given its recent run of comebacks. Renée Slegers's side rallied against Madrid in the quarterfinals, and then shocked eight-time winner Lyon in the semifinals when rebounded from a 2-1 loss in London by winning 4-1 in France. This is the English club's only chance to win some silverware this campaign after finishing second to Chelsea in England's Women's Super League and failing to reach the finals of the FA Cup or League Cup. 'We've had to come back from a lot of difficult situations, from setbacks, but the persistence of the team and the (fact we) keep on believing, that's been key for us,' Slegers said. 'We've done some magical things.' ___ AP soccer:
BBC News
22-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
All you need to know about the Women's Champions League final
Some of the biggest names in women's football are set to go head-to-head for the Champions League Women will battle it out with the Spanish giants Barcelona - who are the current Gunners, which is the nickname for the London team, have also had their hands on the trophy before, but that was back in what is the Women's Champions League and what can you expect from the final?Read on to find out more. What is the Women's Champions League? The Women's Champions League is a competition which takes place each year and sees the best European clubs go the men's competition, it's run by UEFA - which is the organisation in charge of football in Europe and first took place in 2001. When and where will the Women's Champions League final be played? The final will be played at the Estádio José Alvalade in the Portuguese capital, Lisbon, on Saturday 24 will be the fourth time the final has been played in Portugal, after the country hosted in 2014, 2020 and stadium was built in 2003, is the home of Sporting CP and has a capacity around 50, time for this final is at 5pm. Who is going to win the Women's Champions League final? Well that is a question we can't answer - not yet anyway! Barcelona will be going into the match looking to hold onto the title for the third year that doesn't mean Arsenal don't stand a chance, far from it, they've won the title before in 2007 and beat eight-time winners Lyon to get to the Gunners also have the Women's Super League player of the year in their team in Mariona Caldentey. Someone who won the trophy with Barcelona only a year ago! What is the Women's Champions League trophy like? The trophy itself weighs 10kg and is 60cm tall - so that's the twice the size of the long rulers you might find in your made of sterling silver and has two spiralling arms which come off a central body, that's where you can find the names of the clubs that have won the competition original trophy is only used for the official presentation ceremony at the final, clubs are instead given a full size replica to take players are given gold medals, while the runners-up are given silver ones.
