Chloe Kelly Helps Arsenal Beat Lyon 2-1 in First Leg
chloe kelly sat on Arsenal’s side of a 2-1 comeback win over Lyon in the Women’s Champions League semi-final first leg, and the holders now carry a one-goal lead into France. The match swung after Arsenal fell behind and then recovered, with a bizarre Engen own goal drawing them level before the decisive finish.
Arsenal Turned The Tie
Arsenal needed that response because Lyon had opened the scoring, but the home side found a way back and turned the tie before the return leg. The result gives Arsenal the edge after 90 minutes and keeps their route to the final alive.
Renee Slegers had to manage the evening with selection concerns already in view. She said Chloe Kelly had “just a minor issue” and would be assessed for “Wednesday or next weekend,” while Beth Mead’s return date “was not known.”
Groupama Stadium Awaits
The second leg is set for Lyon’s Groupama Stadium on Saturday, 2 May at 14:00 BST. Lyon still have 90 minutes at home to change the tie, and Ada Hegerberg made that point plainly after the match: “We have to stay optimistic because we have another 90 minutes to play at home.”
She also said, “This is the level, you're not going to get anything for free,” after a night that saw Lyon punished for one mistake and Arsenal rewarded for taking theirs. Hegerberg added, “It's brutal, you know in sports you get punished, but we stick together. We have to accept it but find ways to move on.”
Slegers Faces A Tight Run
Arsenal do not get much breathing space before that trip. They face Leicester City at home on Wednesday night in the WSL, then go back into Europe with a lead to defend. Slegers linked the schedule to the squad situation directly: “We are missing a couple of players, we don't know when Beth [Mead] will be back. Chloe [Kelly] was just a minor issue so we will see if it is Wednesday or next weekend. We have such a tight schedule, we need everybody to perform and be ready.”
The wider picture still sits around that first-leg advantage. Arsenal are the holders, and if they get through Lyon they will face Bayern Munich or Barcelona in the final. For now, they have done the hard part at the Emirates and bought themselves 90 minutes in France with the tie still in their hands.
