Arsenal and OL Lyonnes kicked off the first leg of their Women’s Champions League semi-final at Emirates Stadium at 3.30pm BST, with the home side chasing a place in the final after beating Chelsea in the last round. It was 11 starters against 11 starters, and the lineups underlined why this tie carried so much weight: Arsenal named Van Domselaar, Fox, Williamson, Wubben-Moy, McCabe, Russo, Little, Caldentay, Smith, Blackstenius and Foord, while Lyon started Endler, Lawrence, Renard, Engen, Svava, Shrader, Heaps, Yohannes, Diani, Hegerberg and Brand.
The match mattered now because Lyon arrived as the holders and the competition’s most successful side, while Arsenal were trying to turn a strong run into silverware. Lyon had already beaten Arsenal at Borehamwood in the league phase this season, were 14 points clear in Ligue Feminine, and had not lost in any competition all season. Arsenal, by contrast, had not lost in the league since October and were carrying a four-month unbeaten run into one of the hardest ties in the tournament.
That gap in form is what gave this meeting its edge. Arsenal’s substitutes were Votikova, Borbe, Laia Codina, Maanum, Pelova, Hinds, Holmberg and Harwood, while Lyon had a deeper bench that included Belhadj, Bacha, Junttila Nelhage, Dumornay, Becho, Katoto, Egurrola, Fathallah, Sombath, Chawinga, Benyahia and Tarciane. On paper, Lyon’s depth and consistency made them the side to beat; Arsenal’s path depended on proving that the night they handled Chelsea was not a one-off.
For Arsenal, this first leg was the chance to make the tie live before the return. For Lyon, it was another test of a season in which they had not yet been caught, let alone beaten. By the end of the afternoon, the balance of the semi-final would already be clearer.
