Arsenal Women came from behind to defeat Olympique Lyonnais Féminin 2–1 in the first leg of their UEFA Women’s Champions League semi-final on Sunday, capitalising on costly defensive errors at the Emirates Stadium.
The French champions took the lead in the 18th minute through Jule Brand, who cut inside before finishing confidently past Daphne van Domselaar with Lyon’s only shot on target in the first half.
Arsenal responded strongly after the break and were handed a route back into the game following a defensive lapse. A low free-kick from Mariona Caldentey caused confusion in the Lyon box, with goalkeeper Christiane Endler failing to deal with the ball before it deflected off Ingrid Engen into her own net in the 58th minute.
Lyon nearly restored their lead when Kadidiatou Diani struck the crossbar, but Arsenal made their advantage count late on.
A second defensive mix-up between Endler and Engen allowed Olivia Smith to collect the loose ball and slot into an empty net in the 83rd minute, completing the turnaround.
Arsenal manager Renee Slegers cautioned that the tie is far from settled despite the first-leg advantage.
“It’s only half-time, but a lot of the game went the way we wanted,” she said. “We needed more aggression in the first half, and we adjusted well after the break.”
Lyon forward Ada Hegerberg described the goals conceded as “brutal” but backed her team to respond in the return leg.
“You get punished in football, but we stick together. We have to learn from it and move on,” she said.
The two sides, who also met at the semi-final stage last season, will face off again in Lyon next weekend for the decisive second leg.
In the other semi-final, Bayern Munich Women and FC Barcelona Femení played out a 1–1 draw in the first leg.
AFP
