Lyon advances to Women's Champions League final, eliminates Arsenal

Olympique Lyonnais secured a place in the Women's Champions League final Saturday after defeating Arsenal 3-1 at the Groupama Stadium, overturning a 2-1 deficit from the first leg of the semifinal.

The French club's victory gave them their twelfth appearance in the continental competition's final. Arsenal, the defending champions, were eliminated from title contention.

Lyon opened the scoring in the 21st minute when captain Wendie Renard converted a penalty kick to level the aggregate score. Six minutes later, at the 27th minute, Kadidiatou Diani connected on a volley from a corner kick delivered by Jule Brand, extending Lyon's lead to 2-0 on the night.

Arsenal adjusted their approach in the second half, pushing forward to equalize on aggregate. Alessia Russo scored in the 76th minute, anticipating two defenders to beat Lyon goalkeeper Christiane Endler and bring the tie level at 2-2 overall.

Lyon avoided extra time when Jule Brand scored in the 86th minute. Brand received a pass from Melchie Dumorlay and finished with precision. The goal was confirmed correct following a VAR review of Brand's positioning.

Endler, the Chilean goalkeeper, played a key role in Lyon's comeback after struggling in the first leg in London. In that match, she was at fault for both Arsenal goals—first failing to collect a low free kick from Mariona Caldentey that led to an own goal situation, then colliding with teammate Engen following a poor backpass from Lindsey Heaps, allowing Olivia Smith to score the decisive goal.

Lyon's coach Jonatan Giráldez, a Spanish manager, could face his former club FC Barcelona in the final scheduled for May 23 in Oslo. Giráldez led Barcelona to European titles in 2023 and 2024 before joining Lyon.

The French club has a history of comebacks in European competition. One month prior, during the quarterfinals, they fell 1-0 away to Wolfsburg before reversing the result in the return leg at home.