Barcelona midfielder Aitana Bonmatí believes losing last season's Women's Champions League final to Arsenal made her team better and fueled its desire to return to the big game.
The London outfit ended Barça's hopes of winning three consecutive Women's Champions League crowns with a 1-0 triumph in the 2025 title contest.
The Catalan team has come back in style, winning eight and drawing two in this season's competition, while scoring 37 times and conceding just eight.
"I think losing that final and the other two that we lost is part of a learning process," Bonmatí told ESPN ahead of Saturday's final against OL Lyonnes in Oslo.
"In football, or in sport in general, they say you lose more than you win. Fortunately, I think we're a team that has won a lot. I think defeats are sometimes necessary so that you don't get complacent, so you can regroup over the course of a whole year, get new energy to reach the final again and have the chance to at least win it.
"For me, defeats have to happen so the team doesn't get stuck in a rut and can keep growing as a team. I always try to see the bad days or the not-so-good days as opportunities. And for us, I think losing that final was an opportunity for the next one coming up."
Bonmatí, 28, is just grateful she is fit and available after the three-time Ballon d'Or winner fractured her fibula while on international duty with Spain in December.
"It's a different final for me," she said. "I suppose I approached the other finals from a different perspective, having played all season long, where I was in great shape. In this one, I've been out with an injury for the last five months, but that probably makes it even more special because I've managed to reach the final stages of the season."
Bonmatí had hoped to reach the final having had more playing time.
"I'd probably would have liked to play a bit more to build confidence, to get into my stride and be better prepared for this final," she said.
"But that's not up to me. And obviously the team comes first. So with what I've had, I've tried to find that rhythm, that confidence so that, I can contribute wherever I can in this final, which the team has been waiting for so long.
"Obviously, I will contribute whatever is needed of me both on and off the pitch. Because ultimately, I consider myself an experienced player that has been through many finals and many matches like this. I think I can also help in that regard and, obviously, on the pitch I'd love to contribute as well."
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Barcelona have captain Alexia Putellas in fine form. A two-time Ballon d'Or winner with three Champions League titles, Alexia has 26 goals, 13 assists in 49 games this season across all competitions.
"I hope the best moment is yet to come, but I certainly think it's been a good season where I've had to adapt to some players being absent, or to the team going through different spells," Alexia, 32, told ESPN.
"To win the final in Oslo would be the perfect script. "I feel so privileged to be experiencing this again.
"This final is special because it's historic. It's six consecutive [women's European] finals [for Barça], which has never been achieved before. And I think that says a lot about the team's consistency, but it also says a lot about the ambition of this team, which isn't content just with this history of being in six consecutive finals, but with going out to win them."
Alexia, who recently made her 500th Barcelona appearance, also believes her team has learned from the defeat to Arsenal.
"We played some really great matches last season and had a brilliant campaign," she said.
"Only not play as well in the final and be left with a bitter taste in our mouths. We've learned from that, it's something we've worked on and we know that in this final we have to do exactly what we've been doing all season long."
