LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Barcelona is aiming to complete a three-peat of Women's Champions League titles and win its fourth European crown in five years when it faces Arsenal in Lisbon on Saturday. Barcelona is out to reaffirm its status as the dominant force in European women's soccer afterit finally beat Lyonand successfully defended its title in last year's final. Its possession-hungry and high-scoring attack is led from the midfield by Ballon d'Or winnersAitana BonmatíandAlexia Putellasand several other members ofSpain's World Cup-winningteam that beat England in the 2023 final. Barcelona will be play its sixth Champions League final in seven seasons and a record-equaling fifth in a row at Lisbon's 50,000-capacity Estádio José Alvalade. The Catalan club has the chance to become the only team other than Lyon to lift the European Cup in three consecutive years. Standing in its way is an Arsenal team that hasexcelled as a spoilerthis campaign and hopes it can pull off another upset and win its second European title. "They're a fantastic team and they've obviously got the recent history to prove it," Arsenal defender Leah Williamson said about Barcelona in the buildup to the final. "We respect them a lot, but it's a final, so everybody turns up and everybody gives their best." Barcelona's weapons First-year Barcelona coach Pere Romeu has a side that can hit from all angles with multiple scoring options. It leads all the major team statistics in attack: most goals scored with 44 — to Arsenals' 25 — the highest possession, best pass accuracy and most shot attempts. Barcelona forward Claudia Pina leads the competition in scoring with 10 goals, ahead of Arsenal pair Mariona Caldentey, who joined from the Spanish club last summer, and Alessia Russo with seven each.Bonmatíand teammate Patri Guijarro lead the competition with five assists each. Barcelona added to its winning squad in the offseason by signing Poland striker Ewa Pajor, who went on to lead the Spanish league with 23 goals. Pajor, 28, is seeking her first European title after losing four finals with former club Wolfsburg, including the 2023 final to Barcelona after leading 2-0. "The final is played in the details and we can prepare the details before the game," Pajor said. "What I have also learned – because I've played in four finals – you have to be there in the first minute until the end." Not unbeatable Barcelona has rolled to a sixth consecutive Liga F title and has reached another Copa de la Reina final, but at the same time it has proven beatable. Barcelona's home unbeaten run in Liga F came to an end after a record 64 games this season, and it lost to Real Madrid for the first time in 19 clasicos since its top rival founded a women's team. It also started the Champions League with a rare group stage loss to Manchester City. "We lost a couple more games than we are used to and we lost some games that hurt more than others," Barcelona forward Caroline Graham said, adding about the City defeat: "A lot of people thought that our run to be good in the Champions League was a bit over. That was a motivation to show that we still are good and that we can still compete against the best." Gunning from behind Arsenal remains the only English team to win the biggest title in women's club soccer after it won UEFA's Women's Cup in 2007 when it beat Umea, two years before the tournament was reformatted and renamed the Women's Champions League. Arsenal may be the underdog, but it is likely comfortable with that role given its recent run of comebacks. Renée Slegers's siderallied against Madridin the quarterfinals, and then shocked eight-time winner Lyon in the semifinals when rebounded from a 2-1 loss in London by winning 4-1 in France. This is the English club's only chance to win some silverware this campaign after finishing second to Chelsea in England's Women's Super League and failing to reach the finals of the FA Cup or League Cup. "We've had to come back from a lot of difficult situations, from setbacks, but the persistence of the team and the (fact we) keep on believing, that's been key for us," Slegers said. "We've done some magical things." ___ AP soccer:https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
