April 27, (THEWILL) – Arsenal produced a remarkable comeback against Lyon in the Women’s Champions League semi-final, winning 4-1 on Sunday to progress to the final with a 5-3 aggregate victory.
The London club overturned their 2-1 first-leg deficit at the Groupama Stadium in France to book their first appearance in the competition’s final since 2007.
The Gunners made a perfect start when goalkeeper Christiane Endler inadvertently diverted Chloe Kelly’s corner into her net after just five minutes.
Mariona Caldentey doubled their advantage with an excellent strike into the top corner on the stroke of half-time following good work from Alessia Russo.
Russo extended Arsenal’s lead immediately after the restart, capitalising on defensive errors to make it 3-0 within 27 seconds of the second half.
The English forward’s clinical finish effectively put the tie beyond the French champions. Caitlin Foord added a fourth goal in the 63rd minute, taking advantage of Vanessa Gilles’ mistake before finishing with composure.
Lyon managed a consolation goal through Melchie Dumornay with 10 minutes remaining, but it proved insufficient to prevent Arsenal from advancing.
The victory continues Arsenal’s pattern in this season’s competition, having previously overcome deficits against Hacken and Real Madrid in earlier knockout rounds.
Renee Slegers’ team will now face defending champions Barcelona in next month’s final.
The Spanish giants stand between Arsenal and their second Champions League trophy, with the English side aiming to repeat their success from 2007 when they became the only British team to win the competition.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
