England goalkeeper Mary Earps has announced her shock retirement from international football - just five weeks before the Lionesses begin their European Championship defence in Switzerland.
Barcelona, aiming for a third straight title as they featured in the final for the fifth year in a row, had the majority of the play and the chances. But they could not force a breakthrough and with 16 minutes left Beth Mead set up fellow substitute Blackstenius for the goal that sealed victory 18 years on from Arsenal's only previous final, when they won the old UEFA Women's Cup by beating Umeå by the same 1-0 scoreline on aggregate.
Arsenal's Stina Blackstenius has been named Player of the Match for the 2025 UEFA Women's Champions League final after scoring the winning goal against Barcelona in the Lisbon decider.
Blackstenius was chosen by the UEFA Technical Observer Group, who said: "She had two chances before the goal with her runs in behind, stretching the game more. Then came the goal, showing her match-winning influence; Mead's assist also shows the impact of substitutions for Arsenal in changing the game." (Source: Uefa.com)
Barcelona are looking to cement their legacy and prove why they are one of the best European sides of all time. This will be the Blaugrana’s sixth appearance in the UWCL final, and fifth in a row, with only Lyon (11) appearing in more.
Barça beat Wolfsburg and Lyon in 2023 and 2024, respectively, and could become just the second team to win the competition three seasons in a row after Lyon, who won five straight between 2016 and 2020. (Source: The Analyst)
Barcelona are playing their 100th European match and, by coincidence, their first two came against Arsenal in the 2012/13 round of 32. The Gunners won 3-0 away, before a 4-0 home success a week later, and although Arsenal's Kim Little and Barcelona's Alexia Putellas both featured then, as they should do in Lisbon, much has changed in the interim.
Arsenal have produced some memorable comebacks over the years and that has been the story of this campaign as well. After getting past round 1 (where they fell to Paris FC last season), the Gunners then overturned a first-leg deficit against Häcken to reach the group stage, which they kicked off with a 5-2 loss at Bayern München.
Obviously, as the player who has dominated individual awards over the last couple of years, it is hard to look past Aitana as a potential difference-maker in the final. She has already scored and been named Player of the Match in two deciders, against Chelsea in 2021 and Lyon in 2024, and she also played a big role in Barcelona's second-half comeback to beat Wolfsburg in 2023.
Only last month, Aitana was crucial as Barcelona dismantled Chelsea in the semi-finals on their way to earning a showpiece berth against another London club – and one the midfielder scored against when her side won 4-0 at Arsenal in the 2021/22 group stage. More than just a goal threat, however, Aitana also leads the way for assists in this season's competition, tied with Barcelona team-mate Patri Guijarro. (Source: Uefa.com)
Aitana and Alexia Putellas have helped themselves to the big awards in recent times, but Norway attacker Graham Hansen might just as easily have taken those honours. The winger has been part of all three Barcelona triumphs in the Champions League, and this season she has got to link up again with her old Wolfsburg foil Ewa Pajor.
Graham Hansen combines skill, speed, grace and determination, and those qualities make her stand out even in a team as star-studded as Barcelona. On top of that, she has previous form in helping to dismantle a London club in a final, as a quick viewing of the Gothenburg 2021 highlights would attest. (Source: Uefa.com)
So how do Arsenal stop the fearsome Barcelona threat down the flanks that did for even the otherwise pretty much unbeatable Chelsea? Arsenal might have the answer in American right-back Fox, who arrived in London in January 2024 and has enjoyed a tremendous first Champions League season.
Fox brought up her 50th Arsenal appearance in the sensational win at Lyon that took the Gunners to Lisbon, and she is considered among the world's best right-backs, being no stranger to surging forward in addition to her defensive tasks. Can the 2024 Olympic gold medallist join the list of Americans who have won the highest UEFA club honour, including Ali Krieger, Gina Lewandowski, Alex Morgan, Lindsey Heaps and Catarina Macario? (Source: Uefa.com)
In August 2006, a 16-year-old made her UEFA women's club debut for Hibernian in a 4-1 loss to Espanyol. Nearly 19 years on, that same player is set to lead her side out against another club from Barcelona, as Arsenal contest their first final since that same 2006/07 season.
Previously a prolific attacker – and among the top ten all-time goalscorers in this competition – but now a midfield general, Little moved from Edinburgh to London in 2008 and has been at Arsenal for most of that time since. She was the inspiration behind the semi-final victory at Lyon that earned her a first final appearance in her 13th UEFA club competition season, and her combination with former Barça player Mariona Caldentey in the heart of Arsenal's midfield this season has been so vital to their return to Europe's top table. (Source: Uefa.com)
The last time Arsenal featured in a UEFA Women's Champions League final back in 2007 (then named the UEFA Women's Cup), Renée Slegers was a fresh-faced 18-year-old midfielder who was just coming to the end of a valuable year spent at the club's academy.
In summer 2024, coach Jonatan Giráldez left Barcelona after a glorious three years in which they had won ten of the 12 possible trophies available, including back-to-back UEFA Women's Champions League titles. The club did not have to look far to find his replacement, as Giráldez's assistant Pere Romeu stepped up.
The Polish women's national team top scorer, Ewa Pajor moved to Barcelona last summer, where she now rubs shoulders with her male counterpart Robert Lewandowski.
The 28-year-old played in four UEFA Women's Champions League finals with Wolfsburg, her previous side, but lost all of them (three times against Lyon, and then against her current employers Barcelona in 2022/23). The dream is now that she can end her first campaign with her new club with her first winner's medal in the world's top club competition.
Arsenal born and bred, and a regular in the first team since her senior debut back in 2014, it's fair to say that there won't be many people more excited about the Gunners' upcoming UEFA Women's Champions League final against Barcelona than Leah Williamson.
Manchester City can confirm that Jill Roord has signed for Dutch champions FC Twente on a permanent deal, subject to international clearance.
The midfielder made 47 appearances for City during her two seasons at the Club, adding 14 goals and six assists in the process. (Source: mancity.com)
Manchester United have confirmed the news that defender Millie Turner has sustained a fracture in her foot.
Manchester United have now provided a fitness update which confirms that the player has sustained a fracture in her foot. Turner will now begin her rehabilitation with the full support of the Manchester United medical team. (Source: FAWSL-FullTime)
Midfielder Croix Bethune and forward Ashley Hatch delivered the goals for the Spirit and goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury preserved the win late in the match with a diving save.
Barbra Banda scored the fastest hat trick in National Women’s Soccer League history on Friday night and the Orlando Pride snapped a three-game winless streak with a 3-1 victory over the Utah Royals.
Bayern Munich defeated Manchester United 2–1 in the final, coming from behind to secure the victory. Sarah Zadrazil scored the winning goal with a superb strike, sealing the title for the German side.