PSG eliminates Lyon, defending champion for five years, and reaches the semi-finals

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Paris-Saint-Germain (PSG) brought down Olympique Lyonnais (OL), title holders since 2016: the Parisians won 2 to 1 on the Lyonnaises field in the quarter-final second leg, Sunday, April 18.

Winner 1 to 0 in the first leg, Lyon had yet quickly opened the scoring by Catarina Macario (4e minute), but the Parisiennes, domineering, replied by Grace Geyoro (25e), before taking the advantage thanks to a goal against his camp by Wendie Renard (61e).

Lyon had not lost in C1 since April 2017 and its semi-final return against Manchester City (1-0). They had since chained thirty-one games without defeat, including twenty-one victories. But between the first round and the second of the quarter-finals, OL had to overcome a serious episode of Covid-19, with in particular fifteen cases detected within the workforce over the last two weeks. Some players were unable to train collectively before Friday’s session.

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Catarina Macario, the Fenottes striker, returned to the match, believing that the episode of Covid-19 “Was a big drawback. We gave the best of ourselves. At the end of the day, Paris wins. If we could have been in better physical condition, the game would have been different and the result could have been better ”. She also wanted to congratulate the PSG, who “Improves and deserves to win today”.

The Lyonnaises reigned supreme until then, winning the last five Champions League, including the last against Wolfsburg in August 2020. Never had a team managed such a series in the European Cup since Real Madrid between 1956 and 1960 at men.

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Victorious against OL (1-0) in November in D1, Olivier Echouafni’s players are increasingly contesting OL’s supremacy – they are currently at the top of the French championship standings. For the national title, they may have taken a psychological advantage before the return match, scheduled for May 29 at Groupama Stadium. By then, the Parisiennes, in search – like their male counterparts – for their first coronation in C1, will face FC Barcelona in the semi-finals, on April 24 and 1er May, while the other duel will pit Bayern Munich against Chelsea.

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