da esoccer bet： The midfielder doesn't always get the headlines, but she massively deserved them after kick-starting Barca's insane UWCL final comeback

da dobrowin： What a game. What a game! The 2022-23 Women’s Champions League final gave us drama of the highest order as Barcelona completed an incredible comeback to win their second European title. The Catalans were 2-0 down to Wolfsburg at half-time, but it was they who hoisted that trophy highest after a remarkable turnaround.

Goals from Ewa Pajor and Alex Popp saw the German side start brilliantly, with their high press causing all sorts of problems for their Spanish opponents. But Barca improved massively after the break, and two goals in two minutes from Patri Guijarro got them back level in incredibly quick fashion.

From there, the champions of Spain had all the momentum and the third would come 20 minutes from time. Lynn Wilms made a mess of a simple clearance and chaos ensued in the Wolfsburg box. That it was one of their former players, Fridolina Rolfo, that made them pay with an emphatic finish made it all the more painful for the fans in green.

GOAL picks out the winners and losers from a crazy final in Eindhoven…

GettyWINNER: Fridolina Rolfo

Rolfo’s time at Wolfsburg was a difficult one. She endured so much injury woe that she has previously described it as like a "war" against them, and she also lost a Champions League final. But she has been able to stay fit and healthy at Barca and she has flourished as a result, even in a new left-back role.

One of the best players in the women’s game all season, to score the winning goal on a huge stage was a massively well-deserved moment for an incredibly talented player – one that can now finally call herself a champion of Europe.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesLOSER: Lynn Wilms

Sadly, while there is always a hero in these games, there is so often a player whose contribution is not one they will want to remember. This was the biggest game of Wilms’ club career and, for a player who grew up not too far from Eindhoven, it could’ve been a really special one. Instead, it was her mistake that led to Barca’s winning goal and completed Wolfsburg’s almighty collapse.

Still only 22 years old, she will hopefully get another shot at lifting Europe’s most coveted trophy and get to exorcise the demons of this day. But this one will hurt her for a little while.

GettyWINNER: Patri Guijarro

When Alexia Putellas was asked about Guijarro in Friday’s pre-match press conferences, she couldn’t sing her praises highly enough. “The qualities she has as a player, sometimes they go unnoticed,” she said. “The job she does may not be seen as much but when you’re near her and you know her, you know how important she is.”

On Saturday, she was the Player of the Match and the player who turned things around for Barca – albeit in a very different way to how she usually influences games, by scoring goals! The midfielder doesn’t often get the headlines so for her to do so after this moment was very well earned.

Getty ImagesLOSER: Tommy Stroot

Stroot had an excellent game plan for his Wolfsburg team. They pressed well, they caused Barca all sorts of problems and they went in at the break 2-0 up. It was executed to perfection. The problem was that it was only done like so for 45 minutes.

There was little he could do from the dugout as he watched his players fail to track Guijarro twice and lose their lead. He couldn’t do anything about the defensive chaos for the third, either.

However, questions could be asked of his substitutes. Tabea Wassmuth, last season’s second highest goalscorer in this competition, and Jule Brand, the young star that changed the game for Wolfsburg as they defeated Arsenal in the semis, were left on the bench as the German side succumbed to defeat. It was certainly puzzling.