The matter was already in the bag, but Olympique Lyonnais sprinkled their group stage with a hint of perfection. As the match headed towards a dreary 0-0 at Groupama Stadium, Danielle Van de Donk recovered the ball in the central circle before initiating a “counter-attack”. Kadidiatou Diani made the difference on the right to finally find the Dutchwoman, who finished from 5.50m (1-0, 81st).
The entire scenario for this Group A was already set: Lyon was assured of retaining the lead and Wolfsburg’s qualification was no longer threatened by AS Roma, third in this group. The Fenottes are not the only ones to have achieved this 6/6 – synonymous with 18 points – during this round, since Chelsea beat them by dominating Real Madrid (2-1) earlier and Manchester City will have the opportunity to imitate them on Wednesday on the pitch of FC Barcelona.
A second in the group in the quarterfinals
Joe Montemurro’s players already knew this, but they offered themselves the comfort of challenging a second in the group during the quarters. An opponent to choose between the Merengue, Bayern Munich or Arsenal, opposed on Wednesday, and the Skyblues or the Blaugrana.
On paper, the poster was exciting, but the temptation to save time given the lack of stakes took precedence over the talent of the footballers. The Lyonnaises purred in the first period, the pace was not much better after returning from the locker room and the match turned on this acceleration from Diani. Her pairing with Van de Donk had already stood out a few minutes earlier, but the midfielder missed a volley from an ideal position in the heart of the area when receiving a precise cross from the ex-Parisian (77th ). A glimpse of what awaited the Louves.