OL Lyonnes fell this Sunday to the Arsenal Gunners, in the semi-final first leg of the Champions League (2-1) in a match marked by guilty hesitations from Lyon goalkeeper Christiane Endler, guilty of both goals. Return on May 2.
A historic duel and OL are off to a bad start. Ahead, the Lyonnes shot themselves twice in the foot this Sunday in London at the Arsenal Gunnners (csc in the 59th and unfortunate mix-up in the area in the 83rd). A 2-1 defeat against the defending champions in the Champions League during this semi-final was a bitter taste.
The French will try to turn things around next weekend at home (May 2, 2026, at 3 p.m.), with their sights set on the final on May 23 in Oslo, against FC Barcelona or Bayern Munich.
A revenge to take
They will be able to find inspiration from their English opponents, the same ones who eliminated them on the road to the final last year, after losing the first leg.
The Londoners put in all the necessary ingredients on Sunday to make them crack and knock them over in front of more than 26,700 spectators at the Emirates.
OL goalkeeper Christiane Endler still helped Arsenal in their task with a hand mistake and a guilty hesitation which cost two goals.
Endler at fault
In the first period, the Lyonnes stood back during periods of opposing possession (six shots for Arsenal) and scored on their only opportunity recorded in the first period. Jule Brand who went to hook the opposing captain, Kim Little, then deceive goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar (19th, 0-1) with a quiet shot.
The 23-year-old German winger, symbol of the hyper-active transfer window last summer, gave hope to her teammates to return to the top of the European pyramid.
But the Londoners pushed the visitors into error after returning from the locker room. Endler first found a hole on a weak free kick from Mariona Caldentley, which she failed to capture and which her defender Ingrid Engen tried to clear, in vain and into her own net (58th, 1-1).
The two teammates were involved again on the following goal: the Norwegian defender wanted to protect the ball so that the Chilean goalkeeper could come and recover it, but the latter hesitated and Olivia Smith took advantage (83rd, 2-1).
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