WALDRON GRAIN & FUEL

05/23 10:19 CDT Barcelona star Bonmat starts on bench against OL Lyonnes in Women's Champions League final Barcelona star Bonmat starts on bench against OL Lyonnes in Women's Champions League final By GRAHAM DUNBAR AP Sports Writer OSLO, Norway (AP) --- Three-time Ballon d'Or winner Aitana Bonmat starts on the bench for Barcelona in the Women's Champions League final against OL Lyonnes just three weeks after returning from a broken leg. Bonmat has played only four games, three as a substitute, since her comeback from the fractured left fibula she sustained in November. Clara Serrajordi, an 18-year-old Spain international, starts in Bonmat's place in support of two-time Ballon d'Or winner Alexia Putellas. Barcelona and Lyon meet in Saturday's final for the fourth time in eight seasons with both chasing a sweep of four trophies this season. Lyon leads Barcelona 2-1 head-to-head in their Champions League title matches. Lyon is captained by Wendie Renard, the 35-year-old center back who has featured in all of the club's record eight European titles. United States captain Lindsey Heaps anchors the midfield in one of her last games for Lyon before she returns home to join Denver Summit, an expansion team in the NWSL. Heaps' international teammate Lily Yohannes, aged 18, starts in the Lyon midfield. Barcelona is in its seventh final in eight years, its sixth in a row, and is widely favored to win a fourth title. That era started with a humbling 4-1 loss to Lyon in the 2019 final in Budapest. "They were much, much better than us. I am humble enough to say that," Putellas recalled Friday. Lyon also won their title clash in 2022 and only in 2024 did Barcelona finally triumph against its biggest rival. The teams are coached by former colleagues at Barcelona. Jonatan Girldez now coaches Lyon after winning two Women's Champions League titles at Barcelona when Pere Romeu was one of his assistants. "I feel privileged to face Barcelona as I'm grateful for the experience I had there and I wish them the best," Girldez said.

Oslo too small? UEFA's choice of Oslo to host the final has drawn some criticism from Barcelona. Bonmat suggested the 28,000-seat Ullevaal Stadium was "a step back" for women's soccer: a stadium too small in a city with too few direct flights. Norway was defended as "the motherland" of women's soccer in Europe by UEFA's director of women's football, Nadine Kessler. She played in three Champions League finals that each drew crowds of fewer than 20,000. The Ullevaal is sold out Saturday, while one year ago Sporting Lisbon's stadium was just three-quarters full with nearly 39,000 to watch Arsenal beat Barcelona 1-0. Norway's established stars --- Barcelona's Caroline Graham Hansen and Lyon's Ada Hegerberg --- stood up for their national stadium Friday. "The venue was decided a couple of years ago," said Graham Hansen, who grew up in this neighborhood of Oslo, "and you didn't take it for granted you would sell out the stadium." The game is "a once in a lifetime" opportunity for Norwegian soccer and to inspire young girls, Hegerberg said. The 2027 final is in Warsaw at Poland's national stadium, which can hold 56,000 for the biggest games. ___ AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer