Lyon end Arsenal's Champions League reign with late VAR-drama winner

Lyon ended Arsenal’s Champions League reign with a 3-1 win at the Groupama Stadium, taking the semi-final 4-3 on aggregate and booking a record 12th Women’s Champions League final. Jule Brand delivered the decisive goal in the 86th minute, but only after a lengthy VAR review had overturned an initial offside call and left Arsenal staring at another cruel margin in a tie shaped by officiating interventions as much as by finishing.

The second leg had already swung on another video review before Brand’s winner. Wendie Renard converted a retaken penalty after Daphne van Domselaar had come off her line early, giving Lyon the opening breakthrough. Kadidiatou Diani then made it 2-0 on the night, pushing OL Lyonnes toward control before Alessia Russo briefly pulled Arsenal level in the tie and kept the holders alive. Brand’s late finish restored Lyon’s lead in the match and ended Arsenal’s hopes of reaching back-to-back finals.

VAR was central across both legs. Arsenal had taken a 2-1 lead in London on April 26 after a penalty appeal was overturned and Ingrid Syrstad Engen’s own goal stood only after a lengthy check, before Olivia Smith scored a late winner at the Emirates Stadium. In France, the same technology intervened again as Brand’s goal was initially ruled out before the review upheld it. Leah Williamson said the match was “very stop-start” and that Arsenal were frustrated by VAR, even as she acknowledged Lyon as a tough and deserved winner.

The tie turned on details that punished Arsenal’s slim advantage and rewarded Lyon’s precision in the decisive moments. Arsenal arrived as reigning champions and had beaten Lyon 4-1 in France in the 2024/25 semi-final second leg, a result that had flipped last year’s meeting in their favour. This time, Lyon reversed that script with discipline, a retaken penalty converted under pressure, and a late goal that survived the review process. They will now face Bayern Munich or Barcelona in Oslo on May 23, with the chance to chase a ninth European title and extend a record that already stands alone in the women’s game.