In the middle of May, it's a hot evening in Torino. Amandine Henry opened the game with a brilliant goal in the first six minutes. It was a foregone conclusion that Lyon would destroy it.
It was not the first time that Les Fenottes had been crowned European Champs. Lyon's dominance is not new.
Even a heavily-tipped Barcelona side boasting a plethora of highly decorated stars - some of Europe's most notable talent - failed to make an impression on Lyon's well-established domain. The affair was one-sided. Lyon have won eight of the past 10 trophies on offer.
Few women's sides will ever come close to replicating it. In the men's competition, they are the equivalent of Real Madrid. Europe is their center of gravity.
The all-conquering success of OL Groupe's women's side has been dismissed by L'Equipe as a joke.
The competition gap is narrowing. There is a change taking place. As Women's Super League clubs pay closer attention to the benefits of European rivalry, there is a possibility of a coming of age that could threaten the established hierarchy. Financial incentives alone are enough to encourage English clubs to operate on smaller budgets than those in Europe.
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The WSL only has one European title to its name, and England's top tier has made moves. The league is the best it's ever been.
The Lionesses showed how strong the league is. The Houston Dash's Rachel Daly played their football outside of the WSL in the season leading up to the Euros. Since returning to the English game from America, Daly has scored three goals for Villa in back-to-back victories.
The WSL's recent success can be attributed to centralised marketing, regular TV coverage and increased investment, but can English clubs cut it on the European stage?
Will one of the English teams be able to break with tradition and beat the regulars in the league?
One of the chasers is Emma Hayes'Chelsea. They lost out to Lyon in the semi-finals, but still made it to the final. Sam Kerr, who is now a revered name if found on an opposition teamsheet, chose to join the Blues over Lyon.
Since then, there has been three seasons and the belief is that the team is ready to compete. They made it to the final in the same year their male counterparts won the trophy, but their campaign was affected by the Covid-19 epidemic. The game was not open to the general public. The players were overwhelmed by the enormity of the event. A case of stage fright.
RomanAbramovich visited the dressing room immediately after the defeat to Barcelona as the squad pledged to fight for a return to the European Championship. They said they would be back here.
Although they didn't reach the knockout phase, the side will consider themselves better equipped to fulfill their promise after two years.
If European success is capped, the Hayes era would become its crowning glory. It's not like the present. A squad that can compete with most continental outfits has been added by the Blues. They have four new European champion. It's been over a decade since she began building the women's team from the bottom up, and the only trophy she has yet to win is the European title. It's time to finish the set.
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"We've just got to get better," he said when asked about the chances of the team. No English team has won the competition for a long time. We haven't been close to the top teams and our job is to close the gap. We need to make sure we're better on the grass. We have to be smarter against those teams.
When presented with one of Europe's other forces, they came up short, even though they began to flex their European muscles. The north London side is ranked second in the all-time charts for games won and goals scored in the European club competition. The city of Lyon is located in France. They have a long history.
There's a double-edged sword here. It becomes more difficult to juggle multiple competitions as the WSL gets more competitive. As English teams try to rise to the standards set by the likes of Lyon and Barcelona, it serves as good preparation.
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The WSL has seen a lot of European players this summer. It seems to be the location of choice. The validity of the league is strengthened by the fact that the WSL is able to compete with European clubs for the best talent.
The WSL is fundamentally attractive due to increased exposure, growing attendances, and first-rate facilities. The leaders of the organization hope that this is the year they can lead the charge on multiple fronts.
The side put their name in the hat for Monday's group stage draw after a 3-2 aggregate victory over Ajax in qualification. The view shared by Kim Little is similar.
She said that they have got themselves up to a point. We want to compete to win and have been more consistent in the past. We need to have 11 players who are at the top of their game in order to compete.
She didn't agree with the idea that Lyon and Barcelona are too hard to overcome.
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