‘We never scored four against Lyon’ – Barcelona’s Bonmati full of praise for Arsenal ahead of Champions League final | OneFootball

Barcelona face off in the Women’s Champions League final against Arsenal on Saturday with the team chasing a legacy similar to that of Lyon, the club Arsenal dispatched in the semi-finals.

The Gunners beat Lyon 5-3 on aggregate to make it to the final to face a Barcelona side which thrashed Chelsea in their semi-finals.

Ahead of the game, Barcelona star Aitana Bonmati said: “It was a surprise Arsenal beat Lyon. They deserve so well to be in the final because they won and scored four goals against one of the best teams.

“We didn’t score four goals against Lyon ever. They arrive in the final and deserve to be in this final.”

Barcelona could win the competition for a third season running and for the fourth time in five years, drawing comparisons to the legendary Lyon teams of the past.

But Bonmati said: “I don’t want to compare with Lyon, they had their own path and now we have our own path.

“We are different teams in different years. We used to talk really good about them, for us they were the mirror in the past.

“Now we can tell that maybe we are the mirror for a lot of teams. We are proud of our path. We’ll try to be more historical tomorrow.”

Barcelona will be looking to the likes of Caroline Graham Hansen to help them get over the line on Saturday, with Bonmati saying: “We know how Caro plays, she is one of the best players in the world and the best in her position.

“It’s so easy to play alongside her, she makes me better and I can help her to be a little bit better. It’s amazing to play with her.”

Whether Barcelona are able to overcome Arsenal on Saturday or not, Bonmati is proud of the growth of the women’s game.

She said: “We have to be proud for being examples because when we were young we didn’t have these examples. The best examples for the future generations, more than the message, is to keep being the best.”

“I think our team are working every year the same way with the same ambition to show the world and future generations they can be professional footballers.

“When we were young we didn’t have the chance to see our future but now we can be that example.”

That example will be live for all to see at 5pm tomorrow when Barcelona and Arsenal do battle in Lisbon for the biggest title in club football.