Less then a fortnight before Thursday’s UEFA Women’s Champions League final, Lyon edged PSG on penalties for the French Cup.
Olympique Lyonnais earlier clinched an incredible eleventh consecutive French League title with two games to go, although with mixed results against third-placed Paris Saint-Germain.
Beaten 1-0 in the French capital just before Christmas by a late Marie-Laure Delie goal, Lyon hit back in the recent return match with a 3-0 winning margin; Eugénie Le Sommer, Ada Hegeberg and Alex Morgan all scoring in the first half-hour.
PSG Pay The Penalty
Although their domestic final went straight to a shoot-out after 90 minutes, it suggests the UWCL showdown at Cardiff City Stadium on 1st June could also prove ot be a very tight contest.
Cristiane’s impressive solo effort gave Paris an early advantage but Lyon were awarded a penalty when Shirley Cruz Trana tangled with Le Sommer awaiting a corner kick and Saki Kumagai converted from the spot.
With no further goals forthcoming, it came down to penalties from which Lyon eventually emerged 7-6 victors.
Record-Breakers
A sixth successive French double in the bag, Lyon are now looking to match FFC Frankfurt’s record of four European titles and become the first club to win them back to back on two seperate occasions. (PSG lost out to Frankfurt in the 2014-15 final).
It will be Lyon’s sixth such final (another record they share with Frankfurt) but a record fourth one on the trot, while Thursday’s game will see them level Arsenal’s record of 79 European competition ties.
Although a first-ever all French final, the two teams have met in both the previous two UEFA campaigns, Lyon sending Paris to an 8-0 aggregate defeat last year but losing out 2-1 in 2014-15.
Top Stats
Uefa.com stats reveal that Lyon have three players in the top five for shots on target in this season’s UWCL, Le Sommer leading from Cristiane (PSG), with recent Arsenal signing Vivianne Miedema (Bayern Munich) next, followed by Hegerberg and Camille Abily.
Hegerberg and Lyon team-mate Dzsenifer Marozsán are slightly less impressively first and second in the table for shots off target.
Le Sommer and Cristiane make the top five most often caught offside, while PSG’s Laura Georges is one of the most booked players with three yellow cards.
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Pictured – Lyon lift the French Cup (fff.fr)
