By Olaf Goldbecker
The second leg of the Champions League semifinal between Olympique Lyonnais and Arsenal London did not become a thriller. With the French side taking a 2-0 advantage with them to England, the duel was practically decided after only 16 minutes of today’s game when Eugenie Le Sommer marked the lead for Lyonnais meaning that Arsenal would have to score four goals to advance. Even this theoretical thought was history when Le Sommer added a second goal in the 34th minute for her team, which was also dominant on the road. To top this, Swiss international Lara Dickenmann scored to give Lyon a 3-0 halftime lead in stoppage time.
With the game clearly decided, the second half turned out to be meaningless. After 68 minutes, Arsenal put itself on the scoreboard with substitute Julie Fleeting closing the gap to 3-1. Ellen White’s goal, which cut the lead to one in the 85th minute, was in vain. Lyonnais carried home a 3-2 road win and will now play in London again – in Fulham’s Craven Cottage where the final will be played on May 26.
Olympique Lyonnais is now waiting for the opponent, which will be a German team regardless of the score. Turbine Potsdam faces FCR Duisburg on Sunday and is taking the advantage of the road goals after a 2-2 draw in the first leg into this game.