That’s it, it’s over… The feat did not take place and the Parisiennes may have regrets regarding the scenario of the first leg, but also the return where this failed start will haunt them for a long time. A week after collapsing by conceding three goals in the space of 6 minutes, while leading 2-0, Jocelyn Prêcheur’s players were unable to raise their heads to defeat OL, record holders of titles in the Champions League, this Sunday at the Parc des Princes.
There was room, however, for opportunities to react, but Paris put a thorn in its side from the start by conceding a goal from Selma Bacha on an absence of defense at the exit of a corner ( 0-1, 3rd). On this action, Constance Picaud could surely do better… The PSG goalkeeper sometimes seemed feverish, caught on the ball, but she still maintained hope by repelling a blocked cross from Delphine Cascarino who was heading towards her goal (35th). And despite the advantage, the Lyonnaises left spaces that Paris was able to exploit to come back to the score.
A fleeting reaction
Pushed by the approximately 30,000 spectators who came to fill the Porte de Saint-Cloud enclosure and a delirious Virage Auteuil, the Parisiennes accelerated, pushed harder, led by their attacker Tabitha Chawinga who had decided to put the turbo on to wake up the troops with a cross shot into the opposite net just before the break (1-1, 41st). One would have thought that Paris would find the resources to set the steamroller in motion, that the machine would get underway, but there was none of that…
OL’s experience, in the style of Real Madrid, paid off in this major event which was played out under the eye of Warren Zaire-Emery, Nasser Al-Khelaïfi and even the Minister of Sports Amélie Oudéa-Castéra. Strangely transparent, star striker Marie-Antoinette Katoto did not exist. Like his team, very discreet in the second half, they did not show any revolt and it was Lyon who naturally added to the score.
Picaud tried to keep the suspense going by repelling shots from Dumornay (52nd, 65th) and Bacha (56th) but she was unable to do anything about another attempt by Dumornay on the ground (1-2, 81st). More was needed, much more, for the game to turn in their favor and for the Park to plunge into irrationality. Lyon played its part perfectly and will challenge Barcelona in the final on May 25 for a 9th European coronation.
