Benfica 1-2 Lyon: Eight-time winners seal comeback victory

Lyon overcame a brave Benfica showing to recover a one-goal deficit and secure a slender lead in their quarter-final first-leg tie in Lisbon.

Match in brief: Lyon bounce back

Benfica, competing in their first quarter-final, were not overawed by the occasion in the opening exchanges, and could have gone ahead with just seven minutes on the clock.

When Nycole Raysla's path to goal was blocked after a dart into the area, the forward looked for support behind and picked out Andrea Falcón on the edge of the box. Her low curling effort was turned onto the post by Christiane Endler.

The Eagles' hopes were dealt a blow soon after, however, with Brazilian international attacker Nycole forced to hobble off after landing awkwardly on her ankle.

It did not take long for Lyon – yet to be defeated in 90 minutes in any competition this term – to increase the pressure. Eugénie Le Sommer twice tested home goalkeeper Lena Pauels, first curving a left-footed shot after collecting Selma Bacha's mis-hit, then firing a right-footed half-volley into the goalkeeper's arms after good work by Delphine Cascarino.

With half-time approaching, the hosts took the lead from an unlikely opening. Andreia Faria nipped in front of Griedge Mbock Bathy to intercept a pass just inside the Benfica half before embarking on a powerful run into the Lyon area. The 23-year-old had time to pick her spot and coolly slipped the ball under the onrushing Endler.

Andreia Faria celebrates after opening the scoringAFP via Getty Images

The introduction of sub Melchie Dumornay into the attack had paid dividends with a goal in domestic action four days previously in the 4-0 win against Fleury 91, and it was the Haitian international's clever flick that diverted Ellie Carpenter's low cross into the path of Cascarino, who scooped the ball into the roof of the net.

The Division 1 Féminine club piled the pressure on their Portuguese opponents, with Kadidiatou Diani bringing the best out of Pauels on three occasions.

That attacking intent eventually paid off for Sonia Bompastor's charges, with Lindsey Horan's pinpoint centre picking out Sara Däbritz between two defenders, and the German international sending a cushioned header into the far corner.

Lyon had an opportunity to extend their advantage in added time, but Horan could only guide her half-volley into Pauels' arms.

Cascarino poses with her Player of the Match awardUEFA via Getty Images

Visa Player of the Match: Delphine Cascarino

"Her positioning in and out of possession was very effective, especially when creating overloads in central areas. She proved productive with the ball in wide areas and created goalscoring opportunities, supplying a very good final ball on a number of occasions."
UEFA Technical Observer panel

Carlos Machado, match reporter

Lyon had to suffer to grab a hard-fought win against a brave Benfica side who proved that they could compete against one of the best teams in the competition. It was a fairly even contest, with chances for both sides, but in the end the more experienced outfit prevailed. However, the Eagles forced them all the way over the course of the 90 minutes.

Reaction

Andreia Faria, Benfica goalscorer: "It's always good to score a goal in this stadium in such an important game. But we're disappointed that we lost. We allowed them to dictate play in the second half, dropping too deep with our lines, so we feel disappointed with the final 45 minutes. We have lots of things to work on, and the tie is still in the balance."

Sonia Bompastor, Lyon coach, speaking to UEFA.com: "I knew it would be a hard game. They performed well in the group stage, causing Barcelona problems. So we were mentally ready for this, we wanted to perform from the beginning – but we didn't, we conceded. However, we managed to react in the end, so we need to analyse what happened and adjust for the second leg."

Lindsey Horan, Lyon midfielder: "There is a lot of respect for Benfica. We knew it would be difficult with great support here, so that was exciting for us to come up against. We fought back well in the second half from going a goal down. In the first half, you didn't quite see the usual side we are, but we did well and could have scored a lot more goals."

Delphine Cascarino, Lyon forward and VISA Player of the Match: "It was a very, very tough game. We went through some tough moments at the start by conceding a goal. We went into half-time very, very disappointed and we wanted to put that right in the second half. So, we got ourselves started quickly to get the equaliser and then a second one."

Key stats

• Benfica became the first Portuguese team to appear in the quarter-finals of this tournament.
• By contrast, this was Lyon's 15th last-eight tie in the competition – equalling the UEFA Women's Champions League record, set by Arsenal.
• Andreia Faria's strike was her very first career goal in the UEFA Women's Champions League.
• Le Sommer's outing was her 400th across all competitions for the club.
• Cascarino's equaliser was her first club goal since February 2023.
• Däbritz took her tally to five goals in her last four appearances.

Line-ups

Benfica: Pauels; Araujo (Ana Seiça 62), Carole Costa, Ucheibe; Lucia Alves, Gasper, Andreia Faria (Pauleta 69), Falcón (Andreia Norton 69); Alidou, Nycole Raysla (Davidson 16), Kika Nazareth (Amado 69)

Lyon: Endler; Carpenter, Mbock Bathy, Gilles, Bacha; Majri (Dumornay 55), Horan, Däbritz; Diani (Becho 77), Le Sommer (Egurrola 55), Cascarino