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Arsenal’s hopes of defending their Women’s Champions League crown came to a crushing end as Jule Brand scored a dramatic 87th-minute winner to give Lyon a 4-3 semi-final win on aggregate.
The European champions arrived in France as favourites after a 2-1 win in the first leg thanks to two defensive mix-ups by Lyon at Emirates Stadium.
And it looked like luck was on the Gunners’ side once again when Lindsey Heaps had a goal ruled out and Daphne van Domselaar saved a penalty from Wendie Renard inside the opening 20 minutes.
But the video assistant referee (VAR) intervened after the spot-kick to tell the referee that Van Domselaar was off her line, and captain Renard made no mistake with the retake to level the tie.
Kadidiatou Diani crept in with a strike at the back post to put the eight-time champions on the front foot, before Alessia Russo squeezed between Heaps and Ashley Lawrence to score.
But Brand’s curling finish – eventually given after a lengthy VAR check for an agonisingly close offside decision – ended Arsenal’s hopes of becoming the first British side to reach back-to-back finals in the Women’s Champions League.
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