“We train against each other every day and that’s the toughest training we can get,” says Rolfö as Barça reach fifth successive UEFA Women’s Champions League final | OneFootball

Barcelona will make their fifth consecutive appearance in the UEFA Women’s Champions League final on Saturday 24 May, taking on Arsenal at Lisbon’s Estádio José Alvalade after their comprehensive 8-2 aggregate thrashing of Chelsea.

Fridolina Rolfö’s assessment of the tie, which saw Barça claim 4-1 victories in both legs, is perhaps the understatement of the season. Speaking in the mixed zone at Stamford Bridge after their progression to the final was confirmed, she expressed: “We did a good performance over two games.”

With their eyes set firmly on a third consecutive UEFA Women’s Champions League trophy, Rolfö shrugged off the idea that Barça are the favourites – but agreed that the squad is in a much better place than it was when they were defeated by Manchester City on the opening day of their group stage campaign.

“It was the beginning of the season. We’ve worked really hard throughout the season and learned from the mistakes we’ve done,” she explained, “and it feels like we’re in good shape at the moment.”

Putting eight goals past a Chelsea side on course to claim yet another Barclays Women’s Super League title is no mean feat, and while Rolfö quipped that it’s “hard to say” whether the scoreline was indicative of the gulf in quality between the two teams, she revealed that “the way we play is different, and I don’t think all teams know how to defend against it when we have so much movement and very technical players.”

“We do have some of the best players in the world and you can tell also that we have players on the bench coming in with energy,” she explained, later adding that “we work very hard every day to be here on this stage. We know it’s not always competitive in the league when we play but we know we have to be prepared for those games and that’s why we train so hard. We train against each other every day and that’s the toughest training we can get, so I think that makes us so good.”

Barcelona will take on Arsenal in the 2024/25 UEFA Women’s Champions League final at 17:00 BST [18:00 CEST] on Saturday 24 May.