Olympique Lyonnais will take a two goal aggregate back to France with them, after they defeated Bayern Munich 2-0 in Germany. Goals from Melchie Durornay and Tabitha Chawinga saw Lyon with the win, after an excellent penalty save Maria Grohs denied Lindsey Heaps from the spot.
The 8 time UEFA Women’s Champions League winners were too much for Bayern Munich as they struggled to create much. The game marked Bayern’s first lost on home soil this season and their first game without a goal since October.
The game marked Bayern Munich’s goalkeeper Maria Grohs return to the pitch after undergoing treatment for a malignant tumour. She replaced Ena Mahmutovic in between the sticks from Friday’s derby win over Wolfsburg. It was a well welcomed return for the German side, who have several big injuries this season.
Like Real Madrid and Manchester City, Bayern Munich decided to host the game at their small grounds. Bayern are undefeated at the Bayern Campus this season but with the Allianz Stadium left empty due to the men’s international break, it begs the question of why this decision was made.
The Lineups
FCB: Grohs; Gwinn, Sembrant, Eriksson, Hansen, Zadrazil, Caruso, Dallmann, Harder, Bühl, Schüller.
OL: Endler; Carpenter, Gilles, Renard, Bacha, Marozsán, Egurrola, Heaps, Diani, Durmorary, Chawinga.
The Action
Both sides were out of the gates fast, creating chances within 10 minutes. Guilia Gwinn was down inside 10 minutes after a high ball from Melchie Dumornay clipped her ankle. She was able to continue and was clearly sending a ball into the Lyon box, which was cleared.
The visitors dominated possession within the first 20 minutes, with Bayern left to strike off counter attacks. The opening chance came in the 22nd minute, from a recycled ball from Ellie Carpenter to Lindsey Heaps. The American international attempted to see it past the goalkeeper but it was well saved.
Bayern continued to make the most of their counter attacks. Winger Klara Bühl had a handful of shots inside the first half an hour from them, but failed to find the net.
But it was Tabitha Chawinga who opened the scoring at the 35 minute mark. A mistake from Linda Sembrant allowed the Malawian international to break with pace. She easily slotted the ball past Grohs to make it 1-0.
The visitors took great confidence from the goal. Lyon continued the dominance they had established, with Chawinga creating another chance and Damaris Eggurola unable to header in a second.
Late drama rounded up the first half. Sarah Zadrazil gave away a penalty after a sloppy foul on Carpenter in the box. Heaps stepped up to take, opening up her hips to take it right. But it was excellently read and saved by the returning Grohs.
The second half started with another missed shot from Bühl, as Bayern tried to find an equaliser. The side dominated the early possession in the second half, as the atmosphere grew inside the Bayern Campus.
Joy down the wing summed up Lyon’s game as Durmornay set up Heaps. That shot was directly into the hands of Grogs before another shot from Heaps was excellently saved from the German.
Bayern were once again a product of their own downfall. Durornay got her name on the score sheet, after Heaps won the ball well. But Sembrant left unnecessary space at the back for the Lyon players to exploit.
Bayern continued to push to create chances. Bühl took off down the middle of the pitch but her pass back to Pernille Harder was not met, the chance wasted. Lyon laid off after the second goal, letting Bayern build in attack. In doing so, the side went defensive minded and looked to keep their clean sheet.
Ada Hegerberg looked to make it 3-0 after coming on but was unable to find the target. Carpenter broke down the wing once again as she looked to create even more. The chance was fumbled in a crowded box and came to nothing.
Bayern Munich Player Ratings
Grohs – 8/10 – Exceptional save for Heaps penalty. More excellent saves in the second half to keep Heaps out again. Unfortunate to concede two.
Gwinn – 6/10 – Had some good spells down the wing but wasn’t as effective as Bayern would’ve wanted with the lack of possession.
Sembrant – 4/10 – Big error directly led to the opening goal. Struggled against the Lyon front line
Eriksson – 5/10 – Struggled against the front line of Lyon.
Hansen – 6/10 – Was decently ok as the third centre-back when Gwinn went forwards but struggled marking Diani.
Zadrazil – 5/10 – Sloppy, unnecessary foul on Carpenter to give away the penalty. Worked decently well with Caruso.
Caruso – 5/10 – Slightly forgettable and struggled at points in the midfield.
Dallmann – 5/10 – Had some good moments but was lost in Bayern’s lack of dominance. Subbed off at 62 minutes.
Harder – 6/10 – Had some good chances but was largely ineffective against a strong Lyon side. Best chance was blocked by Renard.
Bühl – 5/10 – Had a handful of good chances to score, but struggled with the lack of dominance and possession.
Schüller – 5/10 – Registered 0 shots before being subbed off. Not herself at all and struggled to create without the service.
Subs: Simon, Lohmann, Damnjanović, Tanikawa
Olympique Lyonnais Player Ratings
Endler – 6/10 – Had little to do with the lack of Bayern attack but did well when called into action.
Carpenter – 8/10 – Superb up and down the wing, sending in good balls in attack. Really strong performance.
Gilles – 6/10 – Decent at the back but without much to do.
Renard – 6/10 – Exceptional block to deny Harder at 2-0, could have been better on corners after several missed chances.
Bacha – 7/10 – Did well in both attack and defence when either were needed.
Marozsán – 6/10 – Wildly forgettable in the two competitive midfields but worked well with Eggurola.
Egurrola – 7/10 – Good defensive cover to block chances of a Bayern break. Was lost at points in the battle of the midfield.
Heaps – 7/10 – Poorly taken penalty at the end of the first half. Had some very good spells in the second half and set up the second goal well
Diani – 6/10 – Had some good spells going at the Bayern defence.
Durmorary – 8/10 – Well taken goal for 2-0. Had some good spells down the wing.
Chawinga – 8/10 – Took her goal very well to opening the scoring. Was a handful for the Bayern backline to deal with.
Subs: Hegerberg, Majri, Le Sommer
The Halfway Line Player of the Match – Ellie Carpenter
Despite not getting on the scoresheet, the player of the match goes to Ellie Carpenter. An engine on the wing, the Australian fullback set the typo for the match and create many chances down the wing. With one clearance, one interception and 3 tackles, she also did her piece in keeping Lyon’s clean sheet.
