Lyon wins third consecutive Champions title
KYIV, Ukraine — Lyon scored three goals in five minutes to beat Wolfsburg 4-1 in extra time and win the Women’s Champions League for the third year running on Thursday.
After an often-quiet 90 minutes, the action roared to life in extra time when Wolfsburg’s Pernille Harder scored in the 93rd minute with a low shot from distance as Lyon goalkeeper Sarah Bouhaddi — hurt in an earlier collision — was slow to react.
However, Wolfsburg collapsed when midfielder Alexandra Popp was sent off when she picked up her second booking for a clumsy challenge.
Lyon pulled level with Amandine Henry’s half-volley in the 98th and took the lead almost immediately when Shanice van de Sanden’s cross found Eugenie Le Sommer in front of goal.
Ada Hegerberg made it 3-1 soon after, and Camille Abily added a fourth in the 116th minute. Both goals also came off crosses from substitute van de Sanden.
After Wolfsburg scored, “we showed a lot of solidarity and we found all the resources we needed to win,” Henry said. “I’ve never had the chance to play a match with so many twists and surprises.”
Canadian international defender Kadeisha Buchanan was on the bench for Lyon, which won its fifth Champions League title. Buchanan saw action in last year’s final when Lyon defeated Paris Saint-Germain 7-6 in a penalty shootout. Fellow Canadian Ashley Lawrence played for PSG.
Wolfsburg coach Stephan Lerch said injuries and playing 120 minutes to win the German Cup final on Saturday hurt his team but “we put up a great fight here.”
Since 2010, the final has been played in or near the city hosting the men’s Champions League final. That ends next season, with the women’s final in the Hungarian capital Budapest while the men play in Madrid.