Lyon grab a one-goal advantage heading into the second leg of the Champions League semi finals thanks to a late winner from Melchie Dumornay.
A rattled first half display from Arsenal saw the French giants take an early lead through Diani, but the Gunners were able to turn the momentum in their favour following the break. A collected penalty from Mariona Caldentey gave the hosts a strong sense of hope for the victory, but Dumornay snuffed out the celebrations with a late winner.
Arsenal will now travel to Lyon with a one goal deficit to make up if they are to book themselves a flight to Lisbon.
The Lineups
ARS: Zinsberger; Fox, Williamson, Catley, McCabe; Little, Mariona, Maanum; Foord, Mead, Russo
OL: Endler; Carpenter, Gilles, Sombath, Bacha; Egurolla, Heaps, van de Donk; Diani, Chawinga, Dumornay
The Action
Arsenal were the first to strike as Katie McCabe found Frida Maanum in the central areas. Known for making the Champions League stage her own, Maanum tested her chances from distance but the strike rolled on to Christiane Endler who collected the ball with ease.
Salma Bacha gave Lyon their first chance of the afternoon, firing a strike from distance to force a stretching save from Manuela Zinsberger. The Gunners weren’t out of jail yet, as Danielle van de Donk fell into the gap to fire the deflection just wide of the goalposts much to the relief of the Arsenal defence.
Lyon broke the deadlock in the 17th minute as a splitting ball from Ellie Carpenter opened up Diani in the right channel. Smoking Steph Catley for pace, the Lyon star buried her strike into the bottom left corner. VAR intervened on an original call for offside, awarding the French giants a goal for the strong string of play.
Melchie Dumornay was denied a wondergoal by the woodwork after a visionary strike from range made the distance over Zinsberger.
The Gunners looked certain to put the ball in the back of the net as Caitlin Foord poked a ball into the hands of Endler. Russo looked in prime position to put the strike away but a clutter of legs saw the ball cleared away.
Arsenal had the flow of the monentum as the second half ticked on, the best chance coming from Mariona Caldentey’s visionary ball toward Beth Mead whose header was narrowly missed by a diving Maanum at the back post.
Another missed opportunity came in the 74th minute as McCabe’s in-swinging cross was met by Stina Blackstenius in the air, however the shot brushed across the face of goal. Lyon were not out of the woods yet as a swift VAR check saw Arsenal awarded a penalty kick. Cool, calm and collected from Caldentey as her perfect penalty brought the scores back level.
Against the run of momentum, Lyon grabbed the 2-1 lead with 10 minutes left to play as the face of Dumornay steamed past Catley and Williamson before burying her strike into the back of the net.
The Gunners will now have to turnaround a one-goal deficit next week in Lyon. It was the pace that caused the Arsenal downfall, something fans have been expecting for weeks. Whilst the players can make up for the side’s lack of speed against WSL oppositions, a forward line of Lyon’s calibre were never going to let them off easy.
Arsenal Player Ratings
Manu Zinsberger – 7/10 – A really headstrong performance from Zinsberger. Little to do about the second goal as a challenge from Fox interfered the strike.
Emily Fox – 8/10 – Pocketed Tabitha Chawinga down the channel, a standout showing from Fox defensively.
Leah Williamson – 7/10 – A decent performance from Williamson despite the early warning signs. Was able to nullify the threat of Chawinga alongside Fox, but the lack of pace was exploited and she was easily baited away from the play for Lyon’s winner.
Steph Catley – 6/10 – Beaten for pace on more than one occasion, a real weakness for Arsenal on the day.
Katie McCabe – 6/10 – Failed to track back for the opening goal, and was pressed by Diani all afternoon. A strong attacking outlet when Arsenal picked up the tempo.
Kim Little – 8/10 – Arsenal’s best midfielder on the occasion, a really anchoring display from the captain.
Mariona Caldentey – 7/10 – Struggled to find her own space in the first half, often dragged too far into the wide areas in order to compensate for Arsenal’s lack of pace. However, the Spaniard’s second half was far more impactful as she began to find her groove. Collected finish for the equaliser.
Frida Maanum – 5/10 – For a player who usually shines on the Champions League stage, Maanum mastered her own downfall. Missed a key chance and struggled to aid Arsenal defensively.
Beth Mead – 8/10 – A very vibrant performance from the Arsenal no.9, Mead was the most promising outlet in the opening half.
Caitlin Foord – 6/10 – Lacking in defensive discipline, allowing Diani to run McCabe into the ground. Got herself into the game in the second half.
Alessia Russo – 6/10 – Not her day, but did the defensive work well.
Chloe Kelly (63′ for Mead) – Looked lively down the channel but struggled to make a big impact.
Stina Blackstenius (63′ for Maanum) – Her impact was tangible as Arsenal gained the right side of the momentum.
Lia Wälti (63′ for Foord) – N/A
Victoria Pelova (83′ for Russo) -N/A
