Ellie Carpenter claimed the assist for the opening goal of Olympique Lyon’s 2-1 win away to Arsenal as they moved within reach of qualifying for the Women’s UEFA Champions League final.
Lyon claimed an advantage in the two-legged semi-final with a 2-1 win in London, with Carpenter setting up Kadidatou Diani’s opener in the 17th minute.
The Matilda raced the ball out of defence down the right flank, before playing in a through-ball for Diani, who got in behind Steph Catley.
Diani still had plenty to do before rifling in a low shot, which counted despite the offside flag initially going up.
Carpenter put in a full shift for Joe Montemurro’s side. Catley also played a full game for the Gunners.
Caitlin Foord started and was replaced after 84 minutes, while Kyra Cooney-Cross remained unused on the bench.
Foord almost swooped to square the game in the 52nd minute, when the ball fell to her inside the box, but the Lyon keeper thwarted the danger.
Barcelona beat Sam Kerr’s Chelsea in the other semi-final first leg 4-1 in Spain.
Emily van Egmond scored Birmingham City’s third goal as they recorded a 3-1 home win over Durham to continue their push for promotion to the English Women’s Super League.
Van Egmond, who joined Brum in mid-season from NWSL club San Diego Wave, put in a full shift and added City’s third goal in the 86th minute.
The Matildas midfielder lashed in a right-foot volley when unmarked inside the box after a corner was partially cleared.
The result means Birmingham are second on 39 points behind London City Lionesses on 41, with two games to play. Only the top side gets promoted.
The two sides are due to meet on the final day of the season in Birmingham.
Elsewhere, Bonnie Davies went unused by Blackburn in their 0-0 draw at Sheffield United.
Clare Wheeler put in a full shift for Everton in a 1-1 draw at Manchester City, for whom Mary Fowler was absent having been diagnosed with an ACL injury earlier this week.
Following the ACL diagnosis, sustained in City’s FA Cup loss to Manchester United last weekend, Fowler said: “I’m really disappointed to be facing some time out of the game.
“It’s never easy when something like this happens especially when you’ve been working so hard and feeling good. The road ahead will be challenging, but I’m ready to take it on.
“There’s still so much I want to achieve, and I’ll be using this time to grow in every way I can. I’m committed to doing the work, staying positive and coming back better than ever.
“I want to say a big thank you to everyone who’s sent messages or checked in – it’s honestly meant so much. The support from my teammates, family, friends and fans has been a real lift and reminded me how lucky I am to be surrounded by such a strong network.”
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Hayley Raso was absent amid reports of a season-ending injury as Tottenham went down 3-2 to Aston Villa.
Clare Hunt was an unused substitute while Charlotte Grant was also not in the matchday squad.
Katrina Gorry started and played 78 minutes for West Ham United in their 0-0 home draw with Manchester United.
Charlie Rule was a 97th minute substitute for Brighton & Hove Albion as they lost 2-1 to Teagan Micah’s Liverpool. Micah was an unused sub.
In USA’s NWSL, Cortnee Vine returned to action for the first time in a month, playing as a 63rd minute substitute in North Carolina Courage’s 1-0 home loss to Bay FC.
Mackenzie Arnold was benched while Kaitlyn Torpey started but was replaced at half-time in Portland Thorns’ 1-0 defeat at Seattle Reign.
Alanna Kennedy started and was replaced late in Angel City’s 4-0 home loss to Gotham FC.
In Sweden’s Damallsvenskan, Jada Whyman put in a full shift for AIK in a 4-1 home loss to Malmo FF, while Polly Doran was a 66th minute sub in Linkoping’s 1-1 draw with Norrkoping.
