The other four goals (saved) that are worth a Champions League

BarcelonaThe images of Ewa Pajor celebrating the second goal, lifted by her teammates, with a fist in the air, will remain in the memory of Barça's women's team's fourth Champions League title. Or that of the players embracing after Salma, with two more goals, sealed the thrashing of Olympique de Lyon in the Oslo final (4-0). But the title would not be a reality without the performance of the player who was a hundred meters away, being the team's last bastion, keeping a clean sheet and holding the team together when it was going through its toughest moments.

"It's always great to keep a clean sheet. I love these games, they give me goosebumps. I love helping the team," she said, euphoric, to the TV3 microphones on the pitch. And rightly so. Cata Coll, one of the best goalkeepers at the moment, completed a sublime performance with four saves of merit. Two of them when the score was 0-0. Another just after Barça took the lead on the scoreboard and another to prevent Olympique from believing in a comeback when they were already two goals down. She hasn't been named MVP, because in football goals are celebrated, not those who prevent them, but she has done more than enough to deserve the award.

Many Barça fans were reminded of the images of Víctor Valdés in Paris, in the men's final in 2006, when his saves were key to keeping Barça alive when the team was lost, desperate, or suffocated. Moments when the psychological factor weighs more. When you can tell your opponent that, even if they are playing better, they can't beat you. "We were clear that we would win. We said it to each other in the morning," assured the player from Pòrtol.

"Money isn't everything"

They had it clear and had learned their lesson from last year's final, which they lost against Arsenal. OL's project, built with a hefty checkbook, didn't scare them. "Money isn't everything," she said mischievously. And one could add that the height difference isn't either. Chilean Christiane Endler is 1.82 meters tall. Cata Coll, 1.70. But it turns out that the Olympique goalkeeper couldn't show up in the key moments of the match. Quite the opposite of the Mallorcan player, who left her calling card with a first save on a shot from Renard in the quarter of an hour. The play ended in an offside goal, but without the goalkeeper's reflexes, the final would have had a different outcome. And before halftime, the most spectacular action, flying to prevent Bacha's free-kick from going into the back of the net.

Barça showed very little in the first half. They struggled to create in attack and combat the physical deployment of the French team. It was only clear that the goalkeeper had appeared. Cata admitted that perhaps they hadn't done things right in the first 45 minutes, but they had in the second half. "At the beginning, we didn't have control. Afterwards, we did." She wasn't wrong, because in the second half she only had to intervene twice. And both times, it's true, with great merit. With Barça's first goal, Becho tried a shot at the near post that Cata saved with a great reflex stretch. And with the score at 2-0, she won a one-on-one against Chawinga to prevent the French from closing the gap. Two more psychological blows that diminished the morale of an OL that, defeated, ended up conceding two more goals.

"This year has been a difficult year due to the criticism. We have shown what a team we are and what we want to be in the future." Barça is preparing for a deep reconstruction. Renowned players will leave. But, at 25 years old, Cata Coll will stay to continue defending the blaugrana goal.