How to look at the 2025 Final Champions League: which is at stake for Arsenal and Barcelona

Women’s football from the European club ends on Saturday when Barcelona and Arsenal take the ground for the Champions League final at 5 p.m. Local (Midi and) in Lisbon, Portugal.

The triple Barcelona champion will seek to win a third consecutive title under the new manager Pere Romeu. Meanwhile, Arsenal, the only English club to win the tournament (2007), is looking to finish an impressive season of return under the coach who has become temporary Rene Slegers.

Although Barcelona gets used to regular appearances, it is only the third time that an English team has been making the final since the start of the competition in 2001.

The two teams overcome a fragile start to this year’s tournament, but found triumphant returns along the way. Here’s what you can expect from the match and how to watch.

First of all, how did we get here …

Arsenal

Arsenal did not take an easy path to this year’s final, but they provided moments that prove that they have won their place.

In the phase of the Ligue des Tours de Qualification, Arsenal faced the Rangers and Rosenborg to reach the group phases.

Eliminated at this stadium last season, they were under pressure to progress and tightened by Rosenborg with a 1-0 victory at Meadow Park. Arsenal failed to take a strong start in the phases of groups, losing its first 5-2 match against Bayern Munich and conceding three goals of kicks in the process.

The match was the last of former manager Jonas Eidevall in the Champions League, separating from the team shortly after.

“The belief is something that we have talked about a lot in the team this season,” the Arsenal midfielder Frida Maanum said on Friday. “We found many different ways to win. It was a season full of ups and downs, but full of learning.”

The European form of Arsenal quickly improved under Slegers. Still acting coach at the time, she obtained first place in the group by leading Arsenal to five victories from their next five games, including a 3-2 victory against Bayern.

Since then, Arsenal has specialized in returns to reach Lisbon. They lost the first stage of the 2-0 quarter-finals against Real Madrid, only to win the 3-0 home match. Likewise, they lost the first stage of their semi-final against Lyon 2-1 but won the second floor 4-1.

“I am very proud and I am very happy for so many people because I have only been at the club for 1 or half years. But taking the club to the Champions League final, there are so much work. Many people should be proud,” Slegers told journalists on Friday.

They reached the 2023 semi-finals with an injury team. Arsenal would have always hoped to repeat this feat, but going further showed their growth under the direction of Slegers.

FC Barcelona

For reigning champions, it is now an old hat.

For six years, the Champions League has been the Barometer of FC Barcelona. They have few rivals at La Liga, having won the last six titles, so the only way to prove themselves is against teams across Europe.

This European campaign began with a 2-0 defeat for the Catalans against Manchester City, and doubts began to increase. But after this defeat, they then won their five remaining group games, scoring 26 goals and conceding only once. This race included a 3-0 victory against City in the return match.

FC Barcelona poses for a team photo after beating the Chelsea FC in Stamford Bridge. (David Rogers / Getty Images)

In the quarter-final, they won the finalist six times Wolfsburg by a global score of 10-2. They then dominated Chelsea in the semi-finals by an overall score of 8-2, although the Blues were the team they feared most at this stage of the competition.

Barça entered the final as clear favorites, without absence and significant players such as Claudia Pina, who, despite her lack of minutes, scored 10 goals in the Champions League.

How can Arsenal make history?

If they win, Arsenal will add to their record as the only English team to win the female Champions League.

Their first triumph occurred in the 2006-07 season when they won two-legged equality against the Swedish team Umea. An overtime winner of Alex Scott in the first leg, far from his home, was the only goal in both games and has since kept this team in history books.

“The objective is that another English club wins this,” said Leah Williamson in March, “I know from the point of view of FA and a WSL perspective. It is therefore up to us to do it.

“I know the people who preceded me, who won this Champions League for Arsenal, want us to be the only club to have done so. So we take this too. ”

Slegers, which was part of the Arsenal Academy between 2006 and 2007, could also become the first Dutch manager to win female competition. In the male and female Champions League, she could become the third Dutch manager to lift the trophy after Louis Van Gaal (1995 in Ajax) and Frank Rijkaard (2006 in Barcelona).

What is at stake for Barcelona?

The environment in Barcelona is very demanding. They are a dominant force in Europe. However, with success comes from expectations.

The team comes out of a season during which he won all the titles available: Liga F, Copa de la Reina, Supercopa de Espana and the Champions League. It is difficult, if not impossible, to improve this. All they can do is make it match. Not winning everything would be a disappointment for them, as unfair.

“You tend to forget a little what the team has achieved in order to continue to achieve your goals as a player,” said Alexia Potellas on Friday. “But because of the way we are, we don’t look at what we have done a lot. Even if we have won three champions leagues, that doesn’t make you think that we have already won the game. You quickly forget what you have achieved. We are always going for the next goal.

Romeu was questioned this season because the team has lost two championship games, one against Real Madrid and the other against UD Levante. These doubts were dissipated when the team beat Wolfsburg in the quarter-final and Chelsea in the semi-finals of the Champions League. A victory would confirm his position in his first season as a coach.

Victory is the expectation, but defeat could bring doubts.

Barcelona wants to reaffirm his throne and that they are still the team to beat in Europe, not at Olympique Lyonnais française, which has won the title of title eight times. To do this, Barça must start adding more titles to their trophy cabinet. A victory on Saturday would mean that they are halfway.

Who are the key players to watch?

Arsenal

If we are talking about a threat of objective, we must start with Alessia Russo and Mariona Caldentey.

The two have seven goals in the Champions League this season, a count only beaten by Vivianne Miedema (10 in 2019-2020) and Kim Little (nine in 2009-10). They intensified with special moments in the steps with direct elimination, and Caldentey has shown a star power which can decide on itself games with bigoudis in the upper corner, like the one she had far against Lyonnais.

Caldentey and Russo were the key to Arsenal’s success (James Fearn / Getty Images)

The two players will be massively helped by Chloé Kelly in attack. Starting mainly on the right wing, his franchise was one of the main threats of Arsenal since she joined Manchester City in January. She provoked chaos during the victories against Real Madrid and Lyon and played a role in three of the seven goals in these games. Above all, she helped Arsenal set the tone.

The goalkeeper Daphne Van Domselaar was also vital in Arsenal’s goal, starting with the two victories with direct elimination and absent for their two losses. She was the top scorer in Arsenal this season, as Madrid shows, but also completes their style of play in possession.

FC Barcelona

This season has seen the return of one of the best intermediaries in Europe: Patri Guijarro, Aitana Bonmati and Putellas. Two of them, Bonmati and Putellas, won the last four Ballon d’Or with each other.

And this season, with the final return of Putellas to the starting program and the departure of Keira Walsh, Guijarro was able to return to his natural position as a defensive midfielder.

It provides the balance between attack and defense, organizes the game and defines the tempo. It is a position that is often overlooked because it rarely makes upset coils, but it is essential to the style of play in Barça.

Meanwhile, Putellas rediscovered his shape after recovering from an LCA tear in July 2022 and an injury to the same left knee last season which prevented it for three months. This season, she has become the team’s main help provider and the second top scorer in all competitions behind Ewa Pajor and tied with Claudia Pina, who changed the game in the second half of the Champions League matches. Pina is still the top scorer of the team in European competition.

After returning from injury twice, Pulellas helps the cause of Barcelona (Christian Bruna / Getty Images)

“I try to be my best every day and give everything for the team, in any role, position or moment I give myself,” said Putellas. “In the last two finals, I underwent two injuries, one of them very serious, but this year, I was able to take advantage of the continuity that we, the players, understand so well.”

Bonmati has had a more discreet season than in the last two campaigns, but she is a player who is still on occasion, including her performance in the semi-finals against Chelsea.

This midfielder is great, and these three players are the key to the team’s success with their positioning and their creativity. Barcelona is known for her midfielder, and this year is no different.

How to look …

DAZN is the exclusive holder of English language rights in the United States for the League for Women’s Champions. The streaming service offers the final for free on its YouTube channel, its website and its application.

In the United Kingdom, the game will be broadcast on TNT Sports 1, which sucks Dazn’s matches. You can also broadcast the game for free on Dazn platforms in the United Kingdom.

What do they say?

Arsenal striker Russo on the feeling in advance on the final: “It’s just to be here. Each player who plays for or wants to play for Arsenal understands that it is a winning club who is so ambitious and who wants to be at the top, in competition with the best. It is absolutely where we want the club to be, and we will continue to push as players.”

Putellas in the first match of the club in the Champions League, which was against Arsenal in 2012-13, a match in which she played: “Everything brings you to be who you are now.

(Top Photos of Renee Slegers and Pere Romeu: Getty Images)