Soccer
Renee Slegers disappointed as Arsenal lose to Lyon in Champions League
Arsenal boss Renee Slegers admitted defeat was tough to take but had no complaints after her side’s Champions League defence was ended in the semi-finals by Lyon.
Lyon overturned a first-leg deficit to reach the final with a 3-1 victory at the Groupama Stadium on Saturday.
Alessia Russo levelled the tie after goals from Wendie Renard and Kadidiatou Diani but Jule Brand secured a 4-3 aggregate win four minutes from time.
Slegers told BBC Sport: “It’s, emotionally, disappointment because we were so close and we all believed we could do it, even though we went through really hard times today.
“When the 3-1 came that was really tough. At the moment we’re very disappointed.”
She added: “Today I think they were the better team. They’ve got world-class players.
“But still, it was a very tight game. It’s small margins. We scored for 2-1 and it was even. Yes, it was tight.”
Arsenal’s Leah Williamson admitted the Gunners paid the price for a slow start.
Lyon had a goal disallowed before Renard’s twice-taken penalty and Diani made it 2-0 at the break.
Arsenal’s response, which also saw Olivia Smith hit the woodwork, was encouraging but Lyon were ultimately too strong.
Williamson said: “They’re a tough team to play against. They were good today.
“We didn’t quite match that in the first half. I thought we put on a better display in the second, but not enough.
“You want to win the game, create chances, take chances – and we didn’t today.”
The game was held up by VAR interruptions, with the winning goal only awarded after a lengthy offside check.
None of the decisions were particularly controversial but Williamson felt it robbed the game of momentum.
She said: “It’s hard. I don’t think we’re all on the same page with it. It’s frustrating, it’s very stop-start.”
