Dumornay’s return ends Arsenal’s UWCL defence, sends Lyon to another final

LYON, France — If OL Lyonnes are to reclaim a spot upon the Champions League winners’ podium, Melchie Dumornay will be at the heart of that initiative. The return of the Haitian international transformed Lyonnes from the flat, uninspired side seen in the first leg into a team worthy of a Champions League final.

After an agonising and rather ludicrous three-minute-and-10-second VAR check for the decisive strike from Jule Brand that made it 3-1 OL Lyonnes (4-3 on aggregate), the hosts burst into elation and swarmed Dumornay. After all, it was her pinpoint pass, perfectly weighted and direct, that had set Brand up to seal their ticket to Oslo.

Dumornay had been at the centre of it all: she won the penalty to break the deadlock, set up multiple chances that kept OL Lyonnes on the back foot from the get-go, and assisted the winning goal.

Lyonnes lacked that gumption and ruthlessness last weekend, a rare look for a team boasting such talent in attack. Dumornay — and Selma Bacha, who almost missed the first leg — changed the complexion of the team and forced Arsenal to change their approach, too.

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Olivia Smith was one of Arsenal’s best players in the first leg, but she struggled immensely against Bacha. Dumornay, meanwhile, set up several Lyonnes attacks and forced the visitors into tight spaces, where they’d ultimately lose possession so the French side could hit them on the counter. It speaks to how vital Dumornay is that without her, Lyonnes only managed one shot on target in the first leg.

Her sporting IQ shone in moments where the expectation from Arsenal defenders was that she’d take a shot; however, she was one step ahead. Rather than attempting to try and make a tight angle work for a shot on goal, the Haiti international struck the ball off Leah Williamson to go out for a corner — Lyonnes had the ball in the back of the net twice via such deflections. This unpredictability makes her dangerous, but her IQ and execution make her one of the best players in the game right now.

Lyonnes did lack a clinical edge, something that has been an issue for much of this season, but equally, in a reverse of the first leg, Arsenal looked nervous. The Gunners’ confidence disappeared as soon as Lindsey Heaps headed home at the back post in the seventh minute from a perfectly weighted set-piece. You could see in their facial expression and body language that this once unshakable team had not planned or expected this from their opponents. Even though the goal was ruled out after the officials deemed that Ingrid Engen was offside and obstructing goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar’s view, Arsenal’s confidence did not return.

Lotte Wubben-Moy hauled down Dumornay as she surged toward goal — another example of her relentless drive — but for the English centre-back, the challenge only deepened The Gunners’ troubles and the drama from that early disallowed goal wasn’t over. Wendie Renard’s penalty had to be retaken after van Domselaar’s initial save was ruled out, the goalkeeper judged to have moved off her line too early.

Few players are more reliable from the spot than Renard, the Lyonnes stalwart, and she made no mistake at the second attempt. In doing so, she moved level for the most penalty goals in this season’s Champions League with four and maintained her perfect record in the competition, having now converted her last 10.

Lyonnes soon extended their advantage, learning not to rest on a 1-0 lead before the break. Kadidiatou Diani punished Arsenal’s continued vulnerability at set pieces, meeting Brand’s pinpoint delivery with a precise header to cap the first-half scoring.

It was evident that Lyonnes wanted to use set pieces to hurt Arsenal. It is a weakness they’ve shown for the last few seasons, conceding 19 over the last two seasons in the Women’s Super League and Champions League. For comparison, Chelsea have only conceded nine over the same span. With old wounds reopened, Arsenal suddenly found themselves pinned back. They did manage to respond, drawing level through Alessia Russo despite her earlier struggles to influence the game.

But Dumornay had the final word, producing a sublime pass to pick out Brand and book Lyon’s place in the final in Oslo.

“What can I say? Melchie is an amazing player,” teammate Lily Yohannes told ESPN postmatch. “You saw it today. You see it every time she’s on the pitch for us. She makes a difference.

“She’s such a threat. So to have her on the pitch, to play alongside her, it kind of makes your job easier and you just want to find her every time you can.”

The young United States midfielder herself was a key figure in Lyonnes’ success on Saturday afternoon, perfectly executing a swivel and pirouette to dance around defenders in true ballerina fashion.

It would be unfair to the mentality of the team to suggest that Dumornay was the only cause of the victory, because the reality of facing another crushing exit from the continental competition in the same manner they lost last season – a gutting 4-1 second leg loss after a 2-1 first leg triumph – would be fuel for any team.

No team has had such European dominance. Eight titles is unheard of in modern day football, and it was not simply given to them without effort. Lyonnes earned all the glitter in their cabinet through being the best on the day, with their prize for exorcising their demons from last season being a historic 12th Champions League final.

From here, Dumornay & Co. now have a chance to reclaim some of their former glory in the competition. Lyonnes have not won a title since 2022 and though they reached the 2024 final, it ended in defeat to Barcelona.

Lyonnes boss Jonatan Giraldez was managing the Catalans for that defeat, and they could be set up for a reunion in the final. Barcelona will need to secure a victory over Bayern Munich on Sunday having drawn the first leg 1-1.

The defending champions of the competition now face an agonising plane ride back to London where they will likely relive every moment and decision they made, having missed out on a chance to retain their crown and become the first English team to make back-to-back European finals. They could be in the thick of a title race, providing they win their remaining two games in hand in the Women’s Super League to put the pressure on Manchester City, with their place in Europe all but retained for next season thanks to Manchester United’s poor end to the campaign.

This will do little to ease the pain, but Arsenal’s bruising exit in the qualifiers in 2023-24 set them up for their historic victory last season. Perhaps this blight may fuel something bigger next season.