Lyon 0-0 PSG (7-6 on pens)
Lyon are European champions for the fourth time!
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After one goalkeeper misses, the other, Bouhaddi, steps up to fire past her and claim the trophy for Lyon! PSG 6-7 Lyon
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Kiedrzynek, the goalkeeper, steps up to take a spotkick ... and wishes she hadn’t, because she drags it way, way wide! PSG 6-6 Lyon
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Abily brings the sides level again, sending the keeper the wrong way and passing the ball into the net. PSG 6-6 Lyon
Lawrence scores with a beautiful penalty, driving it into the top corner. PSG 6-5 Lyon
Maroszan comfortably tucks the ball into the corner, as the keeper goes the other way. PSG 5-5 Lyon
Boquete finds the net, but only because Bouhaddi’s hand was too weak! PSG 5-4 Lyon.
Kumagai watches where the keeper goes and then strokes the ball down the middle. PSG 4-4 Lyon.
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Formiga, with a straight run-up, passes the ball low into the corner. Perfect. PSG 4-3 Lyon.
M’Bock Bathy places a superb shot into the top corner.It doesn’t matter which way the keeper went. PSG 3-3 Lyon
Delie expertly slots a low shot into the corner after Bouhaddi goes early the other way. PSG 3-2 Lyon
Renard calmly wrongfoots the keeper and slots the ball into the far. Parity restored! PSG 2-2 Lyon
Geyoro’s weak shot is parried by Bouhaddi! PSG 2-1 Lyon.
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Le Sommer taeks a big run up and blasts towards the corner, but Kiedrzynek makes a tremendous save, tipping the ball on to the bar and out ! PSG 2-1 Lyon.
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Delannoy sends Bouhaddi the wrong way, stroking it into the net. PSG 2-1 Lyon.
Majri fires low beneath Kiedryznek, who was agonisingly close to saving it! PSG 1-1 Lyon
Cristiane steps up and rolls it elegantly into one corner as the keeper flops the other way. PSG 1-0 Lyon
PSG will go first in the shootout ...
End of extra-time: Lyon 0-0 PSG
The penalty shootout, at last! Lyon beat PSG by this method in the French Cup final two weeks ago, is now the hour of PSG’s vengeance?
ET 28 min: Lyon are pinging the ball around but making no progress. PSG are superbly organised and determined, and Lyon have lacked creativity all night.
ET 25 min: Morroni booked for careering wildly into Le Sommer. And she could be punished further, as the freekick is in a dangerous crossing position. But no, PSG clear it. They have defended much better than Lyon have attacked, all told.
ET 22 min: The 300 or so PSG ultras behind the Lyon goal continue to chant and bang their drum. It’s been a dreary match so far but the atmosphere has remained jubilant. These fans know how to make their own fun. They deserve a shootout now: a late winning goal would be a travesty after what’s gone before.
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ET 21 min: Kiedrzynek bounds off her line and through a load of bodies to collect a cross, showing she is the boss of her box.
ET 18 min: Lyon work Kumagai into an opening about 20 yards out. She eschews shooting and instead tries to thread a pass through to Le Sommer. Inevitably the pass isn’t quite good enough. The deadlock goes on.
Lyon substitution: Lavogez on, Thomis off.
Half-time in extra-time: Lyon 0-0 PSG
There are fifteen minutes left for someone t make themselves a heroine before they run the risk of making themselves villain in the shootout.
ET 14 min: Kumagai handles the ball after falling. Boquete demands a yellow card, which would be the second for Kumagai! It would also have been unjust, which is why the ref didn’t show it. The freekick leads to nothing of interest. On we go, then, inexorably towards the shootout. Just do it now, would be my advice.
ET 13 min: Maroszan wins a long diagonal pass into the box, then takes it down and twists to find space for a shot from the corner of the area. It’s a fine effort, but curls a couple of yards over.
ET 11 min: Delannnoy scampers across to whack the ball to safety just as Thomis looked like racing into the box.
ET 9 min: Maroszan booms one at goal from 20 yards. Kiedrzynek deals with this one with no fuss, catching easily.
ET 7 min: Le Sommer digs out a good cross from the right. Kiedrzynek succeeds only in pawing it out to Thomis, who senses a chance to score from 14 yards. But she falls to th ground under a challenge by Morroni. The ref waves away the penalty appeals, and correctly so.
ET 5 min: A bit of cut and thrust from Majri, at last. She swaps a one-two in midfield and then gallops towards the box and opens fire from 20 yards. It’s too close to Kiedrzynek, however, and the keeper makes a routine save.
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ET 3 min: After that early burst from PSG, Lyon try to re-establish their territorial dominance. But they still can’t find enough creativity or precision to unlock the Parisian defence.
ET 1: PSG make an enterprising start to extra time, forcing a corner in the opening minutes. Paredes tries to meet it on the volley near the edge of the box, but Kumugai intercepts.
Full-time: Lyon 0-0 PSG
Extra-time to follow ...
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PSG substitution: Morroni on, Perisset off.
90 min: There will be at least six more minutes. Nervous moments for PSG, who lost the final to a goal in stoppage time against Frankfurt two years ago.
89 min: M’Bock Bathy strides forward and feeds a nice low pass into Maroszan, who hits it on the run first-time from 16 yards. The quick take wrongfoots the goalkeeper but the shot is not on target, finding only the sidenetting.
87 min: PSG are looking increasingly knackered, but Lyon simply haven’t found enough quality to finish them off. And we can’t rule out PSG getting another chance on the counter, even if they’re looking a lot less spry about going forward now.
85 min: PSG are hanging on for extra-time now, as Lyon go in for the kill.
82 min: Another freekick causes problems for PSG! Kiedryznek jumps with Renard and tries to punch it clear but she only get a weak connection and is relieved that the ball drops to a defender rather than a forward.
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80 min: Georges’ first contribution to the game is a fearsome tackle on Le Sommer. It didn’t look malicious, more of a case of her over-stretching in her reckless eagerness to get the ball, with the result that she stuck her foot into the striker’s knee. She’s lucky to escape with a yellow card. Perhaps that referee decided, generously, that she needed a little more time to up to speed with the game.
PSG substitution: Georges on, Cruz Trana off. That’s a pity: Cruz Trana was playing with nifty feet and marvellous inventiveness. BUt she seems to have picked up a minor injury.
78 min: M’Bock Bathy’s diagonal cross from the left bounces right across goal, agonisingly beyond the reach of Le Sommer and Bremer!
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75 min: Maroszan, Lyon’s best player today, makes space again with a sly drop of the shoulder, and then slips a pass through to Le Sommer. But that’s as far as the move gets, as Delannoy hurries across to sabotage their plans. Meanwhile, James Wells would like to add to the rebuking off Garvan Rawley. “Not only do English teams participate in this tournament but Arsenal won it in 2007 and share the record for the most European matches with Lyon.”
73 min: Bouhaddi slice’s an attempted clearance to gift a corner kick to PSG. Cruz Trana sends it in, but M’bock Bathy heads it away.
70 min: Thomis skips away from Lawrence down the right before winning a corner. Maroszan’s delivery is poor this time.
66 min: Maroszan slips a pass through the centre of PSG’s defence. Geyoro beckons her keeper off the line to collect it ... and is then surprised by the speed of Thomis, who dashes past her and looks a good bet to get to the ball first. But Kiedryznek dives on it and then gets clattered by the retreating Geyoro. That looked painful. But perhaps not as painful as conceding a goal would have been.
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63 min: Nifty play by Cruz Trana at the edge of the Lyon area, following by a dainty pass through to Delie, who tries to sidefoot the ball into the bottom corner from 12 yards ... but she guides it a couple of inches past the past! That’s the second huge opening that PSG have created and missed in this game. How much will they regret those later?
61 min: Maroszan wins possession in midfield and then slaloms forward and unloads a ferocious shot from 20+ yards. If you remember Lothar Matthaus’ goal for West Germany against Yugoslavia in the 1990 Men’s World Cup, you can picture how that unfolded ... until the last bit, as rather than find the corner, Maroszan directed her shot towards the middle of the goal, where Kiedryznek made a strong save.
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Lyon substitution: Bremer on, Hegerberg off, to mull over those misses.
58 min: Lyon have raised their game in this half, zipping the ball about with much more speed and tackling with much more vigour. They’re really starting to stretch PSG. But still, their best chances have come from set-pieces.
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PSG substitution: Boquete on, Diallo off
53 min: A gauche foul by Diallo on Renard gives Lyon another freekick in a dangerous area. This time, however, Abily’s delivery is poor, as she floats the ball over the heads of all the attackers and into the arms of the goalkeeper.
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51 min: What. A. Miss! Lyon caused yet more trouble from a setpiece, M’Bock Bathy flicking on a delivery by Maroszan. Kiedrzynek, who was helpless to prevent Hegerberg from stabbing the rebound into the net from three yards ... but that is not how things panned out, because instead Hegerberg managed to steer the ball wide! That’s an incredible miss by a player of her class! And an almighty let-off for PSG.
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48 min: “When are English clubs going to get their act together and enter women’s team for tournament such as this? storms Garvan Rawley. You should consider getting your act together, Garvan, and do some elementary Googling before making your grumbles public. Lyon reached the final by beating Manchester City in the semi. As for Manchester United, well, yes, they are an appropriate target for your anger.
47 min: Lyon go close than at any stage in the first half, as Diallo, under pressure from Hegerberg, diverts an in-swinging freekick by Maroszan just past her own post!
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46 min: Off we go again, with the same line-ups that ended the first half.
Half-time seminar
To get into the swings of things fully, you’ll be wanting to holler at your screens in the local lingo. So here, courtesy of someone who’s emailed me from Visit Wales, is some handy Welsh vocab for you to use in the second half. There is a glaring lack of swear words, but otherwise it’s quite practical:
Offside: Camsefyll (pronounced: Kam-sev-ill)
Goalkeeper: Gôl-geidwad (Gaul gay-dwad)
Striker: Blaenwr (Bline-oor)
Yellow Card: Cerdyn melyn (Kerr-din melin)
Red Card: Cerdyn coch (Kerr-din corchh)
Goal!: Gôôôôôôl! (GAAAAAUL)
Foul: Trosedd (Troh-seth)
Penalty kick: Cic o’r smotyn (Kik orr smottin)
Half-time: Lyon 0-0 PSG
We rattled through Lyon’s impressive statistics at the start but the evidence so far suggest that PSG have their number today: the Parisians have mostly nullified the French champions’ attack and disrupted much of their interplay. What’s more, as the half progressed, PSG began to show their counter-attacking qualities and should really have scored. In the final minutes of that half they positively radiated confidence and Lyon looked a little lost for ideas. They need to pull themselves together and find their passing rhythm, otherwise they could be in for a shock.
45+2 min: What a move by PSG! Cruz Trana toyed with the defenders before releasing Lawrence, who had hared down the right wing and then pulls a nice low cross back to Cristiane, who found space in the box. But she blazes over from 10 yards!
45 min: There will be at least two more minutes in this half ...
43 min: Wonderful tackle by Abily on Crus Trana, sliding in to snaffle the ball just as the Costa Rican seemed set to cross from the right!
40 min: Lots of intricate passing from Lyon but PSG are disciplined and tenacious and are not allowing them through.
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36 min: It’s Lyon’s turn to float a freekick into the box, which they do well. PSG defensive rigour slips and Hegerberg has a free header at the back post! But she fails to get much power into it, offering Kiedrzynek a comfortable save from six yards out.
34 min: PSG seem to have moved beyond their rope-a-dope spell and are now threatening to land blows of their own. Renard is so flustered that she commits a needless foul on Cristiane mid-way inside her own half. That gives PSG the chance to knock a freekick into the area. Perisset rises well to meet it, but her headed is saved by Bouhaddi. Lyon have had most of the possession but theres no doubt that PSG have created the best two chances so far.
32 min: Delie flicks on a punt from the back ... and suddenly Cruz is in! She dashes into the box, sidesteps the last defender and then tries to aim a curler towards the far corner from 10 yards. But Bouhaddi spreads herself well to make a fine save! Cruz’s expression shows she knows she should not have left the keeper with any chance.
29 min: Brilliant by Majri! She dances past Perisset on the left, her feet as fast and deft as the paws of a cat playing with a ball of wool. Then she pings over a cross from the byline. But it’s fractionally too high for Le Sommer!
26 min: PSG release the pressure by spanking a fine pass from deep in the left-hand channel. Deie races after it and then shows her skill and speed to jet to the byline and deliver a dangerous cross. Lyon clear it but then M’Bock Bathy plays her team back into trouble by playing a no-look backpass straight to Delie! Fortunately for M’Bock Bathy, the shot from the edge of the area hurtles just wide.
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Lyon substitution: Thomis on, Morgan off. The American was a doubt before the game because of a troublesome ankle and apparently the pain flared up again and made it impossible for her to continue here. That’s a real shame. But an opportunity for Thomis, who is quite not as classy as Morgan but, on the other hand, is extremely fast.
20 min: Cristiane serves a reminder that PSG do carry a threat when they get the ball. After collecting it some 25 yards out, she lopes a few yards forward and lets fly. The shot sails wide.
17 min: During a break in play due to an slight ankle injury to Maroszan, both sets of players jog over to the sidelines to gulp down some water. It’s mighty hot in Cardiff.
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15 min: Lyon are starting to dominate and PSG are falling deeper and deeper. I wouldn’t say they’re playing for a penalties already because I’m not sure they have much choice: Lyon are hogging the ball. And yet, PSG know they can beat this team, as they did so in the French league in December. Here, by the way, is Lyon’s record in the French league this season: Played: 22. Won: 21. Goals For: 103. Goals against: six. Are you watching, Celtic?
13 min: Le Sommer jinks her way down the right flank and then lashes over a vicious low cross. It puts Geyoro in all kids of bother and she gets her legs in a tangle three yards in front of her own goal! But she recovers quickly and manages to scramble the ball away before the lurking striker could pounce.
11 min: Abily sprays a pass from deep in the left-hand channe. Maroszan chases it and then slips it through to Majri thanks to a slick roll and flick. Diallo tries to dodge her way into the box but has to settle for a corner. Maroszan fires that into the near post but Diallo nuts it away.
8 min: Perisset makes another dangerous raid down the left and wins a corner. She delivers it herself but Maroszan heads it clear.
6 min: A little flourish from Morgan down the right wing. She feints one way and then checks back and swings over a cross. It’s s cleared only as far as Majri, who has a pop from 25 yards. But it wasn’t the top of the pops and it trickles apologetically wide.
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4 min: Perisset lofts a freekick from the left into the penalty area. Lyon defend it rather unconvincingly but eventually whack the ball to safety.
3 min: It’s been a tight enough start, with both teams having short spells of possession but neither managing to create anything near the opposing box.
1 min: It’s off! Lyon do the honours. And within 23 seconds there’s a foul for an off-the-ball shove. That’s a freekick to PSG in their own half, and an encouraging start to proceedings. There’ll be No easing into the game today!
The teams are on the pitch, surrounded by a jubilant crowd of around 20,000 spectators, who are limbering up for the main feature by singing and making merry. It’s a grand atmosphere in Cardiff.
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If Kieran is right, then Lyon will win the Champions League for the fourth time, equalling the record set by Frankfurt, who, of course, beat PSG a couple of years ago in the Parisians’ only previous appearance in the final.
Here’s a forecast from Kieran Theivam, the editor of the excellent Women’s Soccer Zone podcast (WoSo podcast):
This is 4th time they've met this year, last time it went to penalties in French Cup Final. On this occasion, I think Lyon win 2-1 after 90.
— Kieran Theivam (@KiersTheivam) June 1, 2017
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Teams
Lyon: Bouhaddi; M’Bock Bathy, Buchann, Renard, Majri; Le Sommer, Kumagi, Abily, Morgan; Marozsan; Hegerberg
Subs: Gérard, Houara-D’Hommeaux, Thomis, Lavogez, Bremer, Henning, Seger
PSG: Kiedrzynek; Geyoro, Delannoy, Paredes; Perisset, Diallo, Trana, Lawrence, Formiga; Cristiane, Delie
Subs: Geurts, Bouleau, georges, Boussasha, Morroni, Boquete, Daoudi
Referee: B Steinhaus (Germany)
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Preamble
Hello and welcome to a unique Champions League final, the first all-French affair and one in which little love will be lost. Lyon and Paris Saint-Germain have become fierce rivals in recent years, clashing regularly in a variety of arenas. This, in fact, is the teams’ 16th meeting in the last three years; the 15th meeting was just a couple of a week ago in the French cup final, where Lyon won on penalties to complete a domestic double: if they add the continental crown to those honours today, they will complete an extraordinary double-treble, having swept the board last season, too. PSG can’t be having that.
Due mainly to Lyon’d dominance - 11 league titles in a row, if you please - PSG have yet to win a trophy of any kind since their Qatari owners began bankrolling their switch to professionalism five years ago, though they did have the satisfaction of knocking Lyon out of the Champions League in 2014 and reached the final two years ago, before losing narrowly to Frankfurt. Pleasingly, the rivalry is not merely between two institutions: it has also become personal, with assorted cuts of assorted jibs not being appreciated, as was made plain by Camille Abily’s one-finger salute to the PSG bench after the recent Cup final. That was possibly borne of the feeling that PSG got what they deserved after playing for a shoot from early in the second-half, but it is also clear – thanks to some full-blooded tackles - that there are tensions between various players. Stoked, some say, by PSG’s manager, Patrice Lair, who used to run none other than Lyon. So, all things considered, this final promises to have a wholesome blend skill and ill-will. Perfect.
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