If it feels like the tide is turning just a bit in women's soccer in Europe, it's because Sunday's UEFA Women's Champions League final matchup is indicative of just that.
A competition long dominated by German and French clubs—and Lyon in particular for the better part of the last decade—will now come down to English and Spanish sides that both represent the change in the game that has come with greater investment.
Chelsea and Barcelona will vie for Europe's top women's trophy in Sweden, venturing into generally uncharted waters. There's only been one English winner (Arsenal, 2007) and one Spanish finalist (Barcelona, 2019) in the history of the Women's Champions League, and yet the approaches that the two clubs have taken over the last five years have put them in position not just to contend for honors this season, but for years to come.