Around OL – Lyon Roars Back for Champions League Win
Lyon Scores Late Game-winner in Champions League
(photo credit: Richard Moulliard/Le Progres)
Olympique Lyonnais’ Saki Kumagai notched an 88th minute game-winning goal for her club, helping them defeat reigning Italian champions Juventus 3-2 in the first leg of their Champions League match-up in Turin on Wednesday, December 9.
Juventus’ Lina Hurtig scored the opening goal 16 minutes in, before Lyon centerback Wendie Renard equalized from the penalty spot in the 30th minute.
Seven minutes later, Juventus was back on top after a deflected cross clipped off Kadeisha Buchanan’s leg and into the net for an own goal.
OL pulled level once again in the 68th minute when substitute Melvine Malard chased down a through ball, split a pair of defenders, and tucked the ball past Juve keeper Laura Giuliani to make it 2-2.
Kumagai’s goal came with two minutes remaining. The midfielder pounced on a loose ball 10 yards out from Juventus’ goal, pulled the ball past a swarm of defenders, then fired a high shot into the net before being mobbed by her teammates in celebration.
The win and three road goals give Lyon the advantage heading into the return leg in France on Tuesday, December 15.
Four Named as Best FIFA Awards Finalists
FIFA unveiled the finalists for its annual Best FIFA Football Awards on December 11. Four of the seven members from Olympique Lyonnais Féminin named to shortlists for the awards made it to the final round.
OL’s Wendie Renard and former player Lucy Bronze—who completed a transfer to Manchester City ahead of the 2020-21 season, were named as finalists along with VfL Wolfsburg’s Pernille Harder for the Best FIFA Women’s Player award.
Keeper Sarah Bouhaddi, PSG’s Christiane Endler and the Chicago Red Stars’ Alyssa Naeher were named as finalists for the Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper award.
Finally, OL Féminin coach Jean-Luc Vasseur was named as a finalist for the Best FIFA Women’s Coach, along with Chelsea’s Emma Hayes and the Dutch national team’s Sarina Wiegman.
The winners will be unveiled in a virtual ceremony that will be broadcast from FIFA headquarters in Zürich on December 17.
Renard Honored as Part of WICC Best XI
OL centerback Wendie Renard, who was one of three from the OL family named to the Women’s International Champions Cup Best XI on December 2, was interviewed by the organization in recognition of the award.
In the interview, the defender reveals that, in another world, she might have put her 6-foot-2 frame to use playing handball. Instead, she’s won 14 D1F titles, 9 Coupes de France, 7 UEFA Women’s Champions League titles, and four selections to the FIFPro World XI (in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019) in her career with OL and the French national team.
Watch the interview here:
OL Wins Fourth Straight Ahead of PSG Clash
Olympique Lyonnais (7-1-5, 26 points, 3rd) stretched their winning streak to four matches and their unbeaten streak to 10 with a 3-1 win over FC Metz (4-5-4, 16 points, 13th) on Sunday, December 6.
Metz had an early chance to unbalance Lyon, drawing a penalty in the sixth minute of play. Farid Boulaya sent his shot low and to the left, but was stopped cold by a diving Anthony Lopes to deny the hosts the opening goal.
Lyon struck first through Memphis Depay in the 17th minute. The forward received a cutback cross from Karl Toko Ekambi just outside the 18 and smashed the ball to the left post with his first touch to make it 1-0.
OL found the net again in the 47th minute, when Houssem Aouar flicked a ball into the penalty area for Toko Ekambi. The Cameroonian raced forward and fired the bouncing ball into the upper left corner.
Toko Ekambi notched his second of the match in the 60th minute, running on to a through ball from Lucas Paquetá after a turnover and finishing a low shot past Metz keeper Alexandre Oukidja to make it 3-0.
Boulaya pulled a goal back for Metz in the 75th minute, finishing a cutback cross from Opa Nguette in a similar fashion to Depay’s goal to make it 3-1.
The hosts’ slim hopes of a comeback were doused altogether in the 87th minute, when Metz defender John Boye was shown a straight red card for hitting Lyon’s Marcelo in the face during a free kick.
Lyon were also reduced to 10 men in the third minute of stoppage time, after the referee judged Rayan Cherki guilty of serious foul play after he collided with Oukidja when the keeper rushed out to stop a promising attack.
Lyon will put its unbeaten streak to the test when it faces league leaders Paris Saint-Germain (9-3-1, 28 points, 1st) on Sunday, December 13. A win in that match could see OL reach the top of the table, depending on results in other matches.
Les Fenottes Back to Winning Ways with Le Havre Triumph
Olympique Lyonnais Féminin (9-1-0, 27 points, 2nd) quickly shrugged off its first league defeat since 2016 with a win over Le Havre (1-8-1, 4 points, 12th) on Saturday, December 5. The club struck three times in the opening 18 minutes for a 3-1 victory.
Wendie Renard started the scoring in the fifth minute, when she headed home a corner from Dzsenifer Marozsán on a contested ball in the penalty area.
In the 11th minute, OL replicated its set-piece success. This time, Marozsán’s cross found the head of Saki Kumagai, who hit a looping ball to the back post that dropped in over the fingertips of keeper Constance Picaud.
Lyon rounded out its scoring in the 18th minute, this time striking from open play. Amel Majri trapped a partially cleared ball with her chest at the 18, before striking a ball that bounced through traffic to beat Picaud at the right post.
Le Havre managed to score in the 42nd minute, when Sylia Koui stole the ball off OL’s back line and threaded a shot past keeper Sarah Bouhaddi from 17 yards out.
Neither side scored in the second half as Lyon secured three points on the road.
Upcoming Matches Around OL
Olympique Lyonnais Féminin vs. Issy FC – Groupama OL Academy, Décines-Charpieu, France – Saturday, December 12, 5:30 a.m. PT
Paris Saint-Germain vs. Olympique Lyonnais – Parc des Princes, Paris, France – Sunday, December 13, 12:00 p.m. PT
Olympique Lyonnais Féminin vs. Juventus – UEFA Women’s Champions League Round of 32, second leg – Groupama OL Academy, Décines-Charpieu, France – Tuesday, December 15, 10:00 a.m. PT