Slegers admits Arsenal were beaten by the better side in the UWCL semi-final

Slegers admits Arsenal were beaten by the better side in the UWCL semi-final

Renee Slegers admitted that Lyon were the better team after Arsenal Women were knocked out of the UEFA Women’s Champions League by Lyon Women.

Arsenal went into the match with a one goal advantage after their 2-1 win at the Emirates last week, but a late goal from Jule Brand secured a 3-1 victory for Lyon – 4-3 on aggregate.

Lyon had raced into an early two goal lead in the first half before Alessia Russo pulled one back for Arsenal. Brand’s goal was the decider and sends Arsenal home after two tight matches.

Slegers was full of praise for the French side after the match.

“Yes Lyon were the better team,” she said. “Across two legs it was two teams with styles of football that have gone against each other.

“Lyon raised their levels today. They came out really strong. They had Selma Bacha and Melchie Dumornay back in the side, who are world class players.

They were really affective in certain moments. It was a very tight game, small margins, it’s a semi-final Champions League. It was tight, very disappointing for us of course.”

The Arsenal boss explained that there is an overwhelming feeling of disappointment after the loss.

“It’s disappointment at the moment,” she said. “Because we were so close and we all believed we could do it, even though we went through hard times today. So when it went to 3-1, that was really tough.”