Wolfsburg eye treble against mighty Lyon in Women’s Champions League

The Women’s Champions League final takes place on Sunday in the Spanish city of San Sebastian. German champions Wolfsburg are looking to emulate Bayern Munich in the men’s competition by completing a treble. But their opponents, holders Olympique Lyon, are in bullish mood as they chase a fifth consecutive title.

Berlin (dpa) – For Wolfsburg’s Fridolina Rolfo, the excitement at playing in Sunday’s Women’s Champions League final in San Sebastian hasn’t been dimmed by the familiarity of her side’s opponents.

“I can hardly wait for the final,” she told Wolfsburg’s official website after Olympique Lyon confirmed their place with a hard-fought win over Paris Saint-Germain.

But, as Wolfsburg look to emulate compatriots Bayern Munich, who completed a treble of trophies in the men’s game with their recent Champions League win, Rolfo is under no illusion as to how difficult it will be to overcome the French side.

“It was a very hard-fought game,” the Swedish international said of Lyon’s semi-final win on Wednesday. “PSG played very aggressively and won a lot of balls.

“That wasn’t easy for Lyon, but you could tell once again that when Lyon are given a chance, they’re ready for it and end up getting the goal. We need to be very careful and alert against them to prevent situations like that.”

Wolfsburg’s own narrow semi-final win – a 1-0 defeat of Barcelona in which Rolfo scored the only goal – took place on Tuesday, giving the Germans one day extra to prepare.

Lyon are also without English international Nikita Parris, whose red card in the semi-final means that she is suspended for the showdown in Spain.

But Parris’ team-mate Wendie Renard said on Wednesday that the setback had only given Lyon more motivation to win.

“It’s a shame about Nikita Parris’s red card,” she told Lyon’s official website. “We will do everything to win the final and lift this cup.”

Ominously for Wolfsburg, she added: “There is joy but no euphoria because we have not yet reached our goal.”

That goal is to win a seventh Champions League – and a fifth in a row. Wolfsburg themselves have two titles under their belts. Their first came with a win over Lyon at Stamford Bridge in London in 2013 – but the French side has since become a bogey team for the Germans.

Lyon have ended Wolfsburg’s campaign at various stages of the competition in each of the last four tournaments. Last season, they gave the Germans a 6-3 aggregate spanking in the quarter-finals – it’s no wonder they’re not short of confidence.

“We have proven again that we are the best team in the world,” left-back Sakina Karchaoui told the Lyon website after the PSG game.

Wolfsburg will have to break down the rock-solid self-belief of serial champions if they are to bring a second treble to German club football in 2020.