Ellie Carpenter was in the thick of the action in Saturday’s Women’s UEFA Champions League final but her French club Olympique Lyon went down 2-0 to Barcelona in Bilbao.
Carpenter put in a full shift on the right-side of defence for the French champions in a tense final where two second-half goals settled it for Barca.
The Matildas full-back had been part of Lyon’s 2022 side which triumphed in the Champions League final, although that game was when she sustained her ACL injury which threatened to rule her out of last year’s Women’s World Cup.
On this occasion, both sides had their chances in the first half but Barcelona gradually gained the ascendancy, with Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmati opening the scoring in the 63rd minute.
Two-time Best FIFA Women’s Player Alexia Putellas came off the bench to seal victory in stoppage-time.
Meanwhile in USA’s NWSL, Emily van Egmond was a 74th minute substitute for San Diego Wave in a 0-0 draw at Angel City. Kaitlyn Torpey was an unused sub.
In Sweden’s Damallsvenskan, Clare Polkinghorne put in a full shift as Kristianstad won 3-1 at Brommapojkarna.
