After coming from behind to win at The Emirates yesterday, Arsenal will now travel to Lyon with a slender one goal lead in their UEFA Champions League semi final tie.
Here we break down two key points from the first leg, looking at what The Gunners got right, and what they may need to improve on, ahead of the crucial reverse fixture on Saturday.
Limiting chances:
Arsenal limited Lyon to just one shot on target in the first leg. The visitor’s only strike on goal came courtesy of Jule Brand in the 18th minute, which saw them take the lead.
However, despite leaving Daphne van Domselaar with little to do in the Arsenal goal, The Gunners did leave themselves exposed on a couple of occasions across the 90 minutes, and were perhaps fortunate that Lyon weren’t clinical enough in front of goal to take the chances presented to them.
In the second half, Kadidiatou Diani rattled the crossbar, after Arsenal gave away possession cheaply in a dangerous area.
The Gunners will need to show more composure on the ball throughout the second leg, particularly in their own half and in midfield areas, to avoid being punished and keep their lead in tact.
Aggressive attacking play:
It is fair to say that both of Arsenal’s goals in the first leg came from Lyon mistakes. However, The Gunners forced the errors that led to the goals, and got their press right throughout the game to win the ball high up the pitch and create chances.
Arsenal’s second goal came from both Kim Little and Olivia Smith doubling up on Lindsey Heaps, forcing her to play a loose ball back towards her own goal, which caused confusion for Ingrid Engen and Christiane Endler.
Olivia Smith was key in not only applying the initial pressure to Lindsey Heaps, but continuing to follow and anticipate the mistake after that, which allowed her to get in between Engen and Endler, ultimately leading to her scoring the winning goal of the game.
It became clear in the opening stages that Lyon’s defence wanted to be patient on the ball, waiting for the runs of Diani and Brand to play passes in behind the Arsenal back line, and utilise the pace of their wingers.
However due to Arsenal’s aggression, Lyon were limited in how they could get out of their own half effectively, and when they did try to bide their time, The Gunners won the ball back and turned it over quickly to create threatening opportunities and get shots away in the box.
Much like Lyon though, Arsenal also struggled to be clinical in front of goal. The Gunners registered an impressive 16 shots throughout the game, but only managed to put six of those on target.
In the second leg you would expect Arsenal to have a very limited amount of chances, with Lyon the ones likely to look aggressive as they try to get back into the tie.
With that it’s crucial that Arsenal can show some composure in front of goal, and try to be more clinical when their chances do arrive, as being wasteful could potentially come back to bite them.
This time last season we saw The Gunners lose the home leg against Lyon 2-1, and produce a magical comeback in the away leg to get themselves into the Champions League final.
Now they will have to travel to central France and ensure they manage the game, defend resolutely, are well organised, limit Lyon’s chances, and are clinical in front of goal themselves, if they want to keep their lead in tact and make the final of the competition for a second consecutive season.
