Women's Champions League: Bayern fall to Barcelona in semis
May 4, 2026
Midfielder Alexia Putellas scored a brace to lead Barcelona to a 4-2 win over Bayern Munich in the second leg of their Women's Champions League semifinal tie on Sunday. It completed a 5-3 aggregate victory to set up a final against OL Lyonnes. The French side had finished off holders Arsenal in the other semifinal on Saturday.
"I'm really happy for the team, they've had a great season and now we just need to put the cherry on top," three-time Ballon d'Or winner Aitana Bonmati told streaming service Disney+.
"(Lyon) are a historic club in the Champions League, they've got an amazing team, for me they've always been the side to beat, added the playmaker, who got one of the biggest cheers of the match when she was substituted on in the 68th minute — marking her return to action after having broken her leg in December.
Sunday's defeat in front of more than 60,000 spectators at the Camp Nou came after Bayern had held Barca to a 1-1 draw at home a week ago and with the visitors looking to pack their defense and hit the hosts on the break. However, the Catalans needed only 13 minutes to open the scoring, with Salma Paralluelo finishing off a Caroline Graham Hansen cross.
Bayern leveled the score just four minutes later when Pernille Harder seized the ball at the halfway line before delivering a pass to an on-running Linda Dallmann at the top of the box, who left the Barca keeper without a chance on her well-placed finish.
However, the home side appeared unimpressed as Putellas put Barca back in front with a deflected effort in the 22nd minute. Poland striker Ewa Pajor struck in the 54th minute, and Putellas hooked home her second of the match four minutes later to seemingly kill the game off.
Late Bayern push unrewarded
Harder, though, had other ideas, drilling the ball into the far corner to reduce the deficit to two in the 71st minute as Bayern pushed hard for a comeback. The visitors twice hit the woodwork in the dying minutes before Harder again found the back of the net in the 90th, only to have it called back by the video assistant referee (VAR).
"Right now it's too painful," Bayern defender and Germany captain Giulia Gwinn told German public TV broadcaster ZDF.
"There's plenty of frustration as we had the feeling we were still in it," she stressed.
"I know we can be proud, but that feeling will come a bit further down the line. We had chances, hit the woodwork twice. I'm not able to explain why the goal was chalked off.
Barcelona move on to face OL Lyonnes in the final in Oslo, Norway, on May 23. This will be the sixth final in a row for the Spanish giants, who won the Champions League in 2021, 2023 and 2024.
Bayern, having failed to make a first Champions League final, are still on course for the double. Having clinched their fourth consecutive Bundesliga title last month, they face Wolfsburg in the German Cup final in Cologne on May 14.
Edited by: Matt Pearson