Having plied their trade at some of the best women’s football clubs in Europe, German midfielder Jule Brand and Norwegian defender Ingrid Engen joined the most decorated club in UEFA Women’s Champions League history – Olympique Lyonnes – in the summer of 2025.Sitting unbeaten at the top of French Première Ligue, the club and its star duo are now faced with the toughest challenge of the European season so far as they look to overturn a 0-1 deficit against Wolfsburg in the quarterfinal second leg at Groupama Stadium in Lyon. In a virtual interaction with TOI, Brand and Engen spoke of their first season with the French giants and the skill and mindset needed for a comprehensive win over both their former club and German rivals on Thursday.Excerpts:On Lyonnes’ first loss of the season and the pressure of overturning the deficit en route to a ninth UWCL titleIngrid: I think it’s not normal to win every game in the season. You can have a loss, and we have got that now. And I think that everything is about how we deal with it and react. We are calm and we know the changes we need to make on the pitch and do things a little bit better. There’ll always be pressure playing for a club like Lyon and it’s something we are aware of and live with every day.Jule: I think it’s very special to play in Lyon because from the beginning, you could see everyone has the ambition to win a lot of trophies, rather every possible trophy. So, we try to adapt in every training and with the same aim.On playing for a club like Lyonnes with so much history and achievementsJule: It’s very special to play in Lyon. I feel in every training that everyone has the ambition to win the Champions League every season, and everyone works hard towards that dream. We were all disappointed after the first leg. But we also know it’s just half-time and will give everything in the next game against Wolfsburg.On tackling the high line of WolfsburgIngrid: I think Wolfsburg are a very direct team. We knew that they would go for the transitions. It’s not only about the high line but about everything we do to win back the ball as fast as possible. That’s how we work at the back, to take the right positions and avoid these transitions. This is something we look to improve upon, and the line needs to be ready for these threats.On playing under Spanish coach Jonatan GiráldezIngrid: The coach has a great winning mentality. No matter what game it is, he shows the same passion, and we really want to be perfect in everything we do. So, we’re ready for this level of football, and his mentality and ways to push us are helping us throughout the season.On the prospect of facing Chelsea or Arsenal in the semifinalsJule: I think we all saw the draw results, but we look at things one step at a time. We have an important game on Thursday, that’s our focus. We must beat Wolfsburg, and then we can move our focus to what the next step is.On playing the quarterfinal second leg at homeIngrid: Obviously, I have to say that having our crowd there is great and so the build-up from the club around this game has been very good. So, I think there’s a lot to look forward to. And to have that atmosphere is going to help us.(Watch UEFA Women’s Champions League LIVE on FanCode)
