TL;DR
Arsenal's hopes of defending their European title ended with a narrow defeat to OL Lyonnes, marked by critical VAR decisions. Despite the loss, Arsenal remains a strong team, but faces the prospect of a trophyless season after earlier exits in domestic competitions.
Fine margins defined this football match. Just a few centimetres, in the key moments. As OL Lyonnes owner Michele Kang celebrated on the pitch, arm-in-arm with her players with the Arsenal squad’s faces a picture of total dejection, those tiny differentials will have felt wider than the Rhone which runs through the city. Arsenal’s reign as European champions has ended.
Up in the top tier, overlooking the scene with almost a bird’s-eye view, around 600 Arsenal fans had reason to be proud but ultimately were despondent. It was barely the thickness of a French baguette that had kept Jule Brand onside when her late winning goal for OL Lyonnes was reviewed by the VAR. In similarly agonising fashion, Arsenal’s Daphne van Domselaar stepped off her line just too early when initially saving a first-half penalty, which Wendie Renard retook and scored. But if those travelling Arsenal supporters were reflecting honestly, Lyonnes were worthy winners.
Invigorated by the return to match fitness of Melchie Dumornay – who missed the first leg through injury but whose splendid second-leg performances exemplified why she deserves to be one of the favourites for the Ballon d’Or – as well as Lyonnes’ returning left-back Selma Bacha, the French side looked transformed compared to their uncertain first-leg display.
As harsh as it may seem to criticise a team that were so close to another European final, Arsenal’s defeat now enhances the prospect of a trophyless season, who were disappointingly knocked out of the FA Cup by Brighton in April and were also knocked out of the League Cup semi-finals by Manchester United in January.
It would be wrong to say Arsenal have gone backwards since winning last season’s Champions League – they look just as strong, if not stronger – but Lyonnes had improved markedly. That is no surprise following their significant investments in their squad last summer. The capture of Brand from Wolfsburg is paying off in spades and several of their other summer signings, not least the 18-year-old prodigy Lily Yohannes and the ever-reliable former Chelsea defender Ashley Lawrence. Lyonnes’ squad was strong enough to enable them to leave Marie-Antoinette Katoto, France’s starting central striker, on the bench. That is, as the locals might say, .