The joy of Londoners at the final whistle. JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP
The Lyonnaises, defending champions and beaten at home in the first leg (0-1), gave in on penalties against Chelsea this Thursday in the quarter-final second leg of C1 (1-2 after, 4-3 on pens).
Joined in the last seconds of extra time after a very questionable penalty, Lyon was eliminated by Chelsea on penalties (0-1, 2-1, 4-3 pens), Thursday, in the quarter-finals of the Champions League female of which he was defending champion.
After the elimination of Paris SG a little earlier, by Woflsburg (1-0, 1-1), there will be no French club in the last four of the C1 for the first time since 2014.
Lyon y a cru
Lyon had however started well before suffering for almost the entire game. Much better in the second half than in the first, the Lyonnaises had to face the English who were much more enterprising in the game and in better control. Yet they opened the scoring in the 76th minute through Vanessa Gilles, to completely revive the suspense in this quarter-final second leg of the Champions League.
In the lead at the end of regulation time, the players of Sonia Bompastor were able to snatch the extension, during which there too they mastered the debates. Witness Sara Däbritz’s second Lyon goal in the 110th minute, which sounded like a deliverance for a Lyon qualification obtained with character at the end of the effort.
The 123rd minute, the turning point of the match
The problem is that Vicky Becho came into play in the 73rd minute slightly mowed in the 123rd minute Lauren James (sister of Reece James present in the stands) in the area. If apparently nothing seemed abnormal, the video assistance to the arbitration came to catch up with the French hopes of qualification. Maren Mjelde then delivered Stamford Bridge by perfectly converting his penalty which sent everyone into an unbreathable penalty shootout.
Race results, Lyon tension and “momentumEnglish, Wendie Renard missed her penalty giving Chelsea the lead, before Lindsey Horan also missed the final shot on goal that sealed the game and sent Chelsea into the semi-finals of the Champions League.