VfL Wolfsburg defeated Lyon in the 2013 UEFA Women’s Champions League final. The two clubs meet again on May 26 in this year’s final. (Photo copyright Domenic Aquilina)
Wolfsburg and Lyon are set for a rematch of the 2013 UEFA Women’s Champions League final after booking their places in this year’s final this week.
Lyon defeated rival PSG, 1-0 on Monday in a formality of a second leg in Paris after winning the first leg, 7-0. Lotta Schelin scored the lone goal in Monday’s encounter, striking just before halftime.
Wolfsburg, meanwhile, lost its second leg against FFC Frankfurt, 1-0 on Sunday, but had similarly built a substantial aggregate lead in the first leg. Wolfsburg won 4-0 in the first leg to still advance to the final, 4-1 on aggregate. Frankfurt’s tally on Sunday was a mere consolation – a 90th-minute goal from Marith Priessen.
This year’s final will be played on May 26 at Stadio Città del Tricolore in Reggio Emilia, Italy.
[MORE: 2014 World Player of Year Kessler forced to retire due to knee injuries]
Wolfsburg defeated Lyon, 1-0 in the 2013 final, denying Lyon in the French side’s bid to become the club to three-peat in the UEFA Women’s Champions League. Martina Müller scored the lone goal from the penalty spot to lift Wolfsburg in that match at Stamford Bridge.
Lara Dickenmann, who was a part of four-straight UWCL-finalist Lyon teams — including that 2013 loss to Wolfsburg and back-to-back triumphs in 2011 and 2012 — now plays for Wolfsburg.
“It was one reason I changed clubs, because I wanted to get to know the German Bundesliga and the German mentality,” she told UEFA.com. “I wanted to find out why Germans always win in the end, and not the French for example, who can play football pretty well too, or any other country. Of course I was thinking about the Champions League as well: with Lyon we didn’t manage to get past the last 16 in the last few years, so now with Wolfsburg I plan to challenge at the top again.”
