Lyon beat holders Arsenal to reach Women's Champions League final

LYON, France (AP) — Forward Jule Brand scored the decisive goal in the 86th minute as OL Lyonnes beat titleholder Arsenal 3-1 to reach the Women’s Champions League final on Saturday.

Goals from captain Wendie Renard and striker Kadidiatou Diani put Lyon 2-0 up at halftime, but Alessia Russo’s competition-leading ninth goal looked to have sent the game into extra time.

But Brand latched onto Melchie Dumornay’s pass to make it 4-3 on aggregate for record eight-time champion Lyon, which lost the first leg 2-1.

Lyon will face either Bayern Munich or three-time champion Barcelona. They play on Sunday and are locked at 1-1 after the first leg in Germany, when Bayern goalscorer Franziska Kett was sent off for pulling the hair of an opponent.

The final will be in Oslo on May 23.

“It’s a little bit emotional making it to the final. I’m so proud of the team, there were so many ebbs and flows in this game,” Lyon midfielder Lindsey Heaps told broadcaster Disney Plus. “Keeping the discipline to put in a performance like that, and finish it, was so important.”

A frantic opening at Groupama Stadium saw a header from Heaps ruled out following a video review.

But VAR went Lyon’s way midway through the first half when a penalty was awarded after defender Lotte Wubben-Moy fouled Dumornay from behind.

Renard scored the penalty on her second attempt.

Arsenal goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar saved the first one but the kick was re-taken for encroachment in the area, and the 35-year-old Renard sent her the wrong way with her second effort.

Arsenal benefited from two defensive blunders to win the first leg 2-1 in London, but struggled from corners against Lyon.

A corner from the left led to Lyon’s second goal in the 36th when Diani adroitly guided the ball in at the back post.

Lyon won its first title in 2011 — with Renard scoring in the final — and will play in a record-extending 12th Women’s Champions League final. No other club has reached more than six and Bayern is looking to reach its first.

Lyon president Michele Kang celebrated on the field afterward, hugging the players.

___

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer