Despite falling behind to a Marie-Antoinette Katoto double, Olympique Lyonnais were able to stun their Parisian visitors and net thrice in the final ten minutes to earn a valuable UEFA Women’s Champions League semifinal lead.
Katoto netted either side of the interval, seemingly securing a shock victory for Paris Saint-Germain until Amel Majri picked out the bottom corner to complete the comeback with 86 minutes on the clock.
The two sides will meet again next week in Paris, with the winner going on to play either Barcelona or Chelsea in Bilbao on May 25. Chelsea currently lead their Catalan opponents 1-0.
Embed from Getty ImagesAs it happened
Olympique Lyonnais have, since the very start of this year’s UEFA Women’s Champions League, been billed as the favourites. Already the most successful side in the tournament’s history, many backed Sonia Bompastor’s team to add to their eight titles.
They were dominant throughout the first half in Lyon, and it was nothing short of a shock when Marie-Antoinette Katoto opened the scoring just before half-time, tapping home at the far post following brilliant work from Sandy Baltimore.
The forward would double her personal tally mere moments into the second half, forcing a deflected ball past Christiane Endler to leave the home fans in a state of sheer discombobulation.
Embed from Getty ImagesBut Lyon, perhaps as a result of their historic success in this competition, fought back – reaping the rewards when Kadidiatou Diani slammed home a loose ball five minutes before Melchie Dumornay restored parity with a thunderous effort from the edge of the box.
And just a minute after bringing themselves level, Lyon threw themselves into a remarkable lead – Amel Majri picked out the bottom corner, leaving Constance Picaud to pick the ball out of her net for a third time in just six minutes.
It remains all to play for in Paris next week, but Olympique Lyonnais will surely feel confident of booking their trip to Bilbao next month.
The lineups
OL:
PSG:
