Women’s German soccer side Wolfsburg defeated Lyon in the Champions League final to inflict the French side’s first defeat in 118 games.
Lyon were clear favorites going into the game and were appearing in their fourth straight final, but it was the German team that completed a surprise victory on Thursday evening.
Wolfsburg won the game one-nil thanks to a second-half penalty from Martina Mueller with only 17 minutes left. This made then the first team to defeat the French champions in normal time in 120 matches.
Their victory wasn’t straight forward though, and only occurred after the favorites dominated the game for long periods. The French team had scored 129 goals in 21 league games so far this season, and in defense they only conceded five efforts.
This triumph confirmed Wolfsburg’s third title of the season, coming after they had won the Women’s Bundesliga and the German Cup in the past two weeks. Before this campaign they had never won a major trophy in their history.
Lena Goessling, who was the player of the match, remarked of their victory, “The way everything has happened over the last two weeks is just a dream.”
Ralf Kellermann, who coaches the winning side, stated that she was impressed by Stamford Bridge, where the game was held, noting, “I love these English stadiums and I am absolutely delighted.” He then called their display “a tactical master performance.”
Patrice Lair, Lyon’s manager was disconsolate in defeat, stating, “We are very disappointed, even though we do not lose very often. We didn’t pose enough of a threat and needed to be a bit more effective.”
On Saturday, two more German sides compete in the men’s Champions League final at Wembley Stadium when Bayern Munich take on Borussia Dortmund. Jupp Heynckes’ Bayern Munich are regarded as the slight favorites to beat their counterparts.
