Ewa Pajor finally has her medal! Winners and losers as Barcelona defeat Lyon to win fourth Champions League title in heart-breaking finale for USWNT star Lindsey Heaps

What a journey it has been for Pajor. After being picked up by Wolfsburg as a raw but talented goal-scorer at 18 years old, the Poland international has blossomed into one of the best strikers in the history of the women's game over the 10 years, bagging a move to Barcelona in 2024 after netted 135 goals in 196 games in Germany.

She lifted plenty of trophies during her time in Lower Saxony and came into this game having got her hands on another six since the move to Catalunya less than two years ago. However, somehow, the Champions League had eluded her.

This was Pajor's sixth final, after defeats in all of her previous five. She watched from the Wolfsburg bench as Lyon won on penalties in 2016, then she played every minute of the 2018 final, which Wolfsburg took to extra time against the same opponent only to lose 4-1. Two years later, OL would break her heart again, in a 3-1 defeat.

In 2023, it looked like the wait was over. Pajor broke the deadlock after just three minutes as Wolfsburg faced Barcelona in Eindhoven, with them 2-0 up at the break. But a remarkable comeback from the Catalans would turn the final completely on its head, in a 3-2 thriller. Then she endured heartbreak having swapped Wolfsburg for Barca, losing last year's final 1-0 to Arsenal. Was it ever going to be her day?

On Saturday, it finally was. Ten years on from her first final, Pajor took wonderfully to a stage she knows well, striking twice to give Barca a 2-0 lead over Lyon in Oslo. This time, unlike in Eindhoven, it was a lead that would stick for her team. Ewa Pajor is a Champions League winner - and boy, does she deserve to be.

Barca boss Pere Romeu had a big call to make when it came to the left wing position for this game. It was always going to be Caroline Graham Hansen on the right and Pajor through the middle, but would he choose Claudia Pina to round out that attack? Or Paralluelo?

The latter has not featured as prominently this season as Pina, who is on track to win the Golden Boot in Liga F. However, Pina has struggled to impact games in this year's UWCL knockout stages, while Paralluelo got a goal and an assist in the win over Bayern Munich in the semi-finals.

Perhaps aided by that showing, it was Paralluelo who kept her place in the line-up on Saturday, and her contributions late on put the result well beyond doubt. Her first goal was a beauty, as she slammed the ball into the top corner of the Lyon goal to seemingly cap off a great evening. But there was time for another, as she coolly beat Christiane Endler a second time to really add some gloss to the scoreline.

Amid all the talk of Putellas' future, and Leon's, Paralluelo is also a free agent this summer. She has lacked consistency at times since her move to Catalunya as an 18-year-old, but the peaks she can produce are remarkable. Is that something Barca want to - and can afford to - keep around? Either way, she has surely increased her value and attractiveness to many other big clubs with this performance.

Lindsey Heaps' tears at full-time on Saturday said it all. The 31-year-old will leave Lyon this summer, returning home to the United States to join new NWSL side the Denver Summit after four years with OL and eight in total in Europe. She has been a trailblazer for Americans across the Atlantic and she had the opportunity to close this chapter of her career in a fitting a way in that respect. Victory would have made her the first USWNT star to win the Champions League twice.

She looked to have put Lyon on track for that win, too, when she reacted quickest to put the ball in the back of the net after just 14 minutes. After scenes of jubilation as she celebrated, though, VAR would intervene and rule it out. Those celebrations wouldn't come for OL again.

Such a devastating defeat presented Heaps with a painful ending to her time in Lyon. She has been a massively impactful and important player for this team, helping them to win this trophy four years ago. There is still a chance to go out on a high, by winning the league next week, but this was something bigger, something more special. It was a gutting way for Heaps' Champions League career to likely end.

There are never many goalkeepers nominated for the Ballon d'Or but Cata Coll is likely to be on the longlist later this year. The Spain international was in the mix for the Yashin Trophy in 2025 but she has yet to receive a Golden Ball nomination, with that first one sure to come her way after she put on a wonderful performance in Saturday's final.

Still only 25 years old, Coll can make mistakes and she can fail to convince when collecting crosses. In Oslo, though, she showcased all the qualities that have made her the No.1 for both Barcelona and Spain, two of the best teams in the world.

Coll made four saves in the final as she kept a vital clean sheet in a game that was much closer than the scoreline suggests. A strong hand to deny Wendie Renard was crucial in the early stages, with her stop to deny Selma Bacha just before half-time perhaps the best. It is rivalled strongly by the manner in which she thwarted Vicki Becho in the second half, however, while her composure in one-v-one situations was very impressive.

Pajor and Paralluelo will grab the headlines, with there plenty of other outstanding outfield performances in this Barca team. But Coll was right up there as one of the big reasons why the Catalans won this trophy on Saturday.

Perhaps the biggest decision Romeu had to make when choosing his Barca line-up was in midfield. Would he give Aitana Bonmati just her second start since she came back from a five-month injury lay-off earlier this month? Would he select Vicky Lopez, who has filled her position in midfield often this season? Or would he opt for 18-year-old Clara Serrajordi?

The teenager was Romeu's choice for the second leg of the semi-final win over Bayern Munich, after a trio of Patri Guijarro, Putellas and Lopez failed to deliver the necessary balance. It worked a treat in a 4-2 win that put Barca in the final. As such, the coach stuck with Serrajordi on Saturday - and she looked at home in the biggest game of her young career so far.

Lyon pressed Barca well in the first half, to prevent them from getting into their full flow, but the teenager had still completed all of her passes at the break, having dealt rather well with the pressure. Her quick and clear decision-making continued into the second half, with her movement and ability to take up different responsibilities helping Barca to get into their groove.

It's clear that Romeu had few, if any, doubts about Serrajordi's ability to handle such a big occasion. Her performance showed why that was the case, and why she has such a huge future.

So often this season, Melchie Dumornay has stood out as the best player on the pitch. It's why she went into Saturday's final as a serious contender for the Ballon d'Or. In Oslo, though, it never really fell for the 22-year-old, with her wait for a Champions League winners' medal to continue, for now.

Dumornay had her moments. She got on the ball plenty, created several good chances and so often looked the most likely to create a Lyon goal. But she didn't get any looks at goal herself, with Barca doing well to limit her influence as best as possible.

Dumornay will surely win the Champions League one day and one would predict that she will likely win the Ballon d'Or at some point, too. After all, she is one of the very best players in the world and she is still so young. The wait for a European triumph goes on, though, and it likely means that her wait for the Golden Ball will as well.