UWCL: Lyon edge out PSG to face Barcelona in final | OneFootball

The UEFA Women’s Champions League final is set after Lyon beat fellow French giants Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 to complete a 5-3 victory on aggregate.

Following the previous blockbuster clash in Lyon, the eight-time European winners held a 3-2 lead as they travelled to the capital. Lyon wasted little time in piling the pressure onto the hosts, and were ahead after just three minutes.

Lyon snub PSG for final spot

A well-worked corner routine saw Selma Bacha and Melchie Dumornay play a quick one-two. Bacha let rip from 20 yards with a shot that seemed to scream ‘silence!’ to the Parisians as it whistled past Constance Picaud at her near post.

Only some agile goalkeeping from Picaud prevented Lyon from doubling their lead just after the half hour mark.

Lindsey Horan picked the ball up in the middle of the pitch and found Delphine Cascarino marauding away down the left-hand side. Cascarino breezed past Thiniba Samoura and whipped in an inviting cross that Jade Le Guilly could only direct towards her own top corner. France international Picaud clawed the ball away to keep her side in the tie.

That save looked all the more important as Tabitha Chawinga levelled the match with just five minutes to go until half-time. It was Le Guilly who pounced on a loose pass in the middle, before laying the ball to Marie-Antoinette Katoto.

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Spotting the run of Chawinga, Katoto played the Malawian forward in, who bagged her fifth goal in 10 UWCL matches this season. She rifled home through the legs of Vanessa Gilles and into Christiane Endler’s far corner.

Picaud was called into action again just before the break, smartly tipping over a long-range strike from Kadidiatou Diani.

Read more: Barcelona end Emma Hayes’ Chelsea Champions League dream

Into the second half and Lyon really should have retaken the lead. A long ball forward from Endler bounced over the PSG midfield and into Dumornay’s path. She raced through on goal but was denied by another good stop from Picaud.

The rebound fell back to Dumornay, whose second shot deflected into the path of Horan. But the US international chipped over with goalkeeper advancing toward her.

Dumornay eventually got the goal her work had merited with 10 minutes to play and seal Lyon’s place in the final.

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The win means Lyon will meet Barcelona for the second time in three seasons in May’s showpiece in Bilbao. The Catalans overcame Emma Hayes’ Chelsea side on Saturday night at Stamford Bridge to end her hopes of a dream swan song.

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