Manchester City’s hopes of claiming a first Women’s Champions League title were dashed by an Englishwoman abroad as Lucy Bronze’s goal saw Lyon through to the final for the third consecutive year.
Bronze, a City player until last summer, scored the only goal in either leg of this semi-final with a delightful right-foot volley. With her pace, power and technique, she epitomised the qualities of her new team and the Berwick-upon-Tweed native looked very much at home in Europe’s dominant club side.
For the English team, however, there was a sense of anticlimax. A disciplined performance in the first leg had meant this match began with the tie still goalless. City set out to contain their opponents once more here, the playmaker Isobel Christiansen assuming a false nine role. But while Nick Cushing’s players never lacked commitment, they failed to force a single save from Sarah Bouhaddi in 90 minutes.
“I asked them to play the game of their lives and I’m really proud of the players,” said the City manager. “With the amount of talent and the unlimited resources Lyon have, the gap between us off the pitch is big. On the pitch in the two ties, we lost it in one moment. Apart from that I thought the tie was even. We defended well and I thought our build-up in both games was exceptional, the best of both teams. But when you have attackers like they do, you know you’re going to be under pressure and today I think they took their chance.”
That chance came in the 17th minute and arrived at the end of a flowing piece of football. Lyon wrestled control in midfield and shuffled the ball to Camille Abily, who had the vision to spot Amel Majri’s run on the left. Abily lofted a pass over City’s right-back, Abbie McManus, and into the path of Majri, who crossed immediately to the far post and where Bronze was lurking. The England international drove at the ball with her right foot, bending the shot beyond Karen Bardsley and inside the far post.
The home side did not cut City open many times but their dominance was real. Lyon should have had at least one more goal in the first half. Abily saw a 25-yard shot deflected on to a post by Jennifer Beattie and Majri had a fierce effort blocked by McManus. Steph Houghton was forced into a last-ditch sliding tackle to stop Bronze from running the length of the pitch with the ball. Finally, with a minute to go, City surrendered possession on the edge of their own box but Lyon’s top scorer, Ada Hegerberg, was unable to convert when one on one with Bardsley.
Dominant physically and tactically, Lyon also had a distinct advantage in terms of pace, which limited City’s effectiveness on the counterattack. In the opening half this was particularly galling for the visitors, who were unable to move the ball far enough up the pitch for their creative players to operate in the areas they could be effective.
Christiansen, an effective schemer, was left to chase down balls thrown over the top. City failed to create a chance of note in the first half, yet they went in at the interval knowing that an unanswered second-half goal would see them through to the final.
For a brief passage around the hour mark, they looked like they might commit more bodies forward. In the 59th minute Jill Scott took aim from 25 yards but her effort drifted a yard over the bar. It was to be City’s only notable effort on goal. With 25 minutes remaining, Cushing abandoned his sense of caution and introduced Nadia Nadim to the field, the winger Claire Emslie following later. But it had no effect. Lyon continued to hold the game in the palm of their hand and Hegerberg sliced wide when presented with another showdown against Bardsley.
Lyon, four-times Champions League winners, are the model for City to follow. The English side have now lost to their French counterparts in consecutive seasons but Cushing remained upbeat that next time the result might be different. “What we should take from today is belief and confidence‚“ he said. “This is a young team. It needs to improve and we’ll do the work to do that. We think we can go on and win this trophy, it’s just going to take a bit of time.”
