Arsenal reached their first Women’s Champions League final since 2007 with an impressive comeback victory in France. They defeated Lyon 4-1 at the Groupama Stadium thanks to an own goal from Christiane Endler and strikes from Mariona Caldentey, Alessia Russo and Caitlin Foord.
On a beautifully balmy day in the south east of France, there was a discernible buzz around the Groupama Stadium. The local bars were awash with fans, enjoying the afternoon sun in nervous anticipation for the match ahead. Among them, the several hundred travelling Arsenal fans, decked out in their customary red and white, seemed in a jubilant if wary mood as they contemplated their side’s chances.
The 2-1 defeat at the Emirates Stadium last week had been frustrating but these fans have witnessed this side come back from the brink on more than one occasion and there was optimism that they could do it once more.
The mood showed no sign of dissipating inside the stadium, buoyed by the beats of the warm-up DJ set. More than 20,000 home supporters had arrived to cheer on the eight-time European champions, expectant that Joe Montemurro’s team could hold on to their advantage and reach their 12th Champions League final.
There had been clear belief emanating from the Arsenal camp since the final whistle last Saturday. They had been disappointed with theresult in the first legbut clearly felt that they had produced a performance to merit coming away with more. Renée Slegers had spoken about her faith in her team’s ability to continue to exploit Lyon but stressed their need to “remain humble” throughout.
The Arsenal manager made two alterations to the side that started in the first leg. The big surprise was the return of Daphne van Domselaar in goal. The Dutch international had picked up an ankle injury during the last international break which was meant to keep her out for about five weeks, but she appeared to have made a remarkable recovery. Chloe Kelly, meanwhile, came into attack in place of Beth Mead.
Montemurro also made two changes as he opted to bring in a wealth of experience. The imperious Wendie Renard had recovered to full fitness to take up her place at the heart of the Lyon defence, making her 500th appearance for the club. Ada Hegerberg, the all-time record goal scorer in the Women’s Champions League, also returned to lead the line, leading to the exciting Melchie Dumornay dropping into midfield.
Arsenal had been criticised for their slow start in the first leg but there were no such issues on this occasion. The Gunners seem to enjoy playing on this expansive pitch – on their last visit to Lyon in 2022 they came away with a 5-1 victory – and they were immediately exploiting the spaces afforded to them by the hosts down the flanks.
They did not have to wait long for the breakthrough, striking within five minutes to level the tie on aggregate. The Chilean goalkeeper Endler made a superb stop in the build-up to the opener, turning Kim Little’s effort instinctively past the post. The hosts, however, were all at sea when defending the subsequent corner. The ball bounced off Frida Maanum and then eventually the unfortunate goalkeeper before rolling into the back of the net.
It was inevitable that there would be some nervy moments for Arsenal’s defence to deal with but they held their own and restricted Lyon to just one shot on target in the first half. Foord, meanwhile, stung Endler’s gloves once more before Russo misdirected a header from an unmarked position.
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This game was a masterclass from Arsenal in scoring at the perfect moments and the visitors doubled their lead deep into first-half injury time. Caldentey has been the signing of the season for the Gunners and once again produced something special, a superb curling effort for her seventh goal in the competition.
Lyon were visibly shell-shocked, and their fortunes failed to change after the break. In fact, their afternoon got even worse as both Foord and Maanum won their respective duels to send through Russo to score.
The visitors were enjoying themselves and added a fourth with half an hour to play. A dreadful slip from Lyon defender Vanessa Gilles in the box saw Foord pounce to put the visitors in complete control of the tie.
The hosts rallied in the closing stages, finding a consolation from Dumornay but Arsenal showed their resilience to hold their ground. It was a famous night for the Gunners who will now progress the Champions League final in Lisbon on 24 May where they will face the holders Barcelona, who had beaten Chelsea 8-2 on aggregate earlier in the day.