The Arsenal women’s team finished their league commitments nearly a week ago and still have a long time to wait until they travel to Lisbon ahead of their Champions League final with Barcelona. Renee Slegers’ side rapped up second spot in the Women’s Super League after a challenging domestic campaign which included Slegers replacing Jonas Eidevall shortly into the season.
A 4-3 win over Manchester United on the final day was enough to confirm the strong finish and set them up perfectly with some winning momentum into the final. That is, of course, if that feeling can last a fortnight – the gap between the last WSL game of Arsenal’s season and the Champions League final.
This is quite the gap, especially when you compare it to the men’s final. The final Premier League match of the season takes place on May 25, with the men’s Champions League final the following week, having only six days between the two games.
While some might look at the extended break as a good thing, that is not always a case. There is something to be said about match sharpness and readiness and with a whole fortnight between games, this does raise valid concerns.
This will not be the case for Barcelona, who have three more games to play. They face Athletic Club on May 18, six days before the Champions League final, and then on June 7, they play Atletico Madrid in the Copa de la Reina, the nation’s premier cup competition in the women’s game.
Barcelona won the last final 8-0 over Real Sociedad and have already wrapped up the Primera Division (Liga F) meaning that their test with Athletic will likely be more about a competitive practice right before the final. These are challenges Slegers will be more than aware of.
It could be that some behind-closed-doors friendlies could be organised to help in preparation. Or perhaps Slegers will instead trust in the training sessions they are running leading up to the game.
Either way, it is an almighty challenge to take on this Barcelona side who eliminated WSL Invincibles Chelsea 8-2 on aggregate. But their win over Lyon showed that anything is possible in this sport.
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