Delphine Cascarino is indeed back. This Wednesday, a double from the French international (58 caps, 14 goals) and one from Kadidiatou Diani allowed Lyon to win against Benfica (4-1, 6-2 cumulative score), to validate their ticket for the semi-finals of the Champions League. Overall dominating (19 shots to 7) and constantly pushing forward, the Lyonnaises never doubted to sign their return to the last four of the competition since 2022.
Sonia Bompastor’s players could have opened the scoring shortly after the start by Kadidiatou Diani, but her attempt narrowly escaped the target (13th). Very enterprising, the Lyonnaises then struck first, with a subtle lob from Cascarino following an error by Lena Pauels (43rd). But Marie Yasmine Alidou’s immediate response from point blank range (44th) restarted the game before the break.
Towards a reunion with Paris
Returning from the locker room, Cascarino put her teammates back in working order by scoring a magnificent goal on a long shot, after a solo rush (51st). The end of the match then gave way to total domination by the Lyonnaises, confident and too rarely worried by their opponents. They failed to increase the score on several occasions, but a high-class Lena Pauels allowed the Benfiquists to stay alive (72nd, 78th). The Portuguese finally broke down in stoppage time, conceding a successful double from Kadidiatou Diani (90th+1 and 90th+6).
Thanks to this success, the Lyonnaises reached the semi-finals of the Champions League for the thirteenth time in their history. They could find Paris-Saint-Germain, opposed to the Swedes of Hacken, in a favorable position for qualification after their victory in the first leg (2-1).
