Adapt and improve: How Lyon battled past Wolfsburg to make Champions League semi-finals
Lyon delivered a dominant performance across every possible metric
Lyon suffered a shock defeat to Wolfsburg in the first leg of the quarter-finals of the Uefa Women’s Champions League. The eight-time champions risked elimination against the She Wolves, facing them for a record 13th time in the competition.
In the second leg Jonathan Giraldez’ side emerged victorious, beating Wolfsburg 4-0 in extra time with a dominant performance. Lily Yohannes’ strike levelled the scores early but they couldn’t manage to get in the lead in regular time. Two goals in three minutes in the first half of extra time from Melchie Dumornay and Damaris Egurrola sealed the tie before Tabitha Chawinga added the cherry on the top in the 119th minute.
Despite what the scoreboard suggested for large parts, the dominance was evident in every possible metric.
At the end of the first half, Lyon already had 16 shots to Wolfsburg’s zero and had 26 touches inside the opposition penalty area compared to two from the German side. They finished the game with 37 shots and 78 touches inside the opposition box, highlighting the kind of pressure they put the She Wolves defence in. In fact, Wolfsburg’s first shot of the game came in the 78th minute.
There were stark differences in the approaches from both sides which defined this clash across the two legs.
She Wolves defending in pack
The German team showed incredible resistance and had a clear game plan. To defend and to defend deep. Stephan Lerch’s side were set up in a 5-4-1 formation from the start with the idea to defend the lead and capitalise on transition situations.
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