WCL: Lyon 2-0 Arsenal Ladies - Match Report

Arsenal Ladies face an uphill battle to reach the Women's Champions League Final after losing 2-0 at Lyon on Saturday.

Two early goals from Lotta Schelin did the damage as the French side caught Arsenal cold in the first leg of their Semi-Final at a noisy Stade de Gerland.

Camille Abily put Schelin through on goal in the second minute and she outpaced the Arsenal defence before curling a right-footed effort beyond Emma Byrne and into the far corner.

Louisa Nécib was the architect of an almost identical strike nine minutes later. Her perfectly-weighted pass found Schelin in the left channel and she finished superbly before Ciara Grant and Faye White could get back to cover.

Arsenal improved after the break and Danielle Carter forced Sarah Bouhaddi into a save just before the hour mark. As the visitors pushed on, Rachel Yankey picked out Ellen White in a dangerous position, but her shot lacked power.

Lyon carved out chances of their own in the second half and Steph Houghton had to make a fine block to deny the hosts a third goal. Then Byrne saved a close-range header from substitute Eugenie Le Sommer to keep the visitors in the tie ahead of Saturday's second leg.