Around OL – OL Drawn Against Juventus for Women’s Champions League
OL Féminin Draws Juve for Champions League Round of 32
Olympique Lyonnais Féminin learned Tuesday that it would face Juventus in the UEFA Women’s Champions League Round of 32. Following a seeded draw by the UEFA administration group, OL was drawn against the reigning Italian champions.
The draw was seeded based on UEFA’s club coefficients. As the title-holders and the winner of the last five Champions League titles, Lyon (145.680) was the highest-seeded club. Juventus (17.065) was in the middle of the group of unseeded clubs and one of seven unseeded clubs who qualified directly for the draw, rather than reaching the Round of 32 through qualifiers.
Juventus posted an unbeaten 14-0-2 record in 16 Serie A matches last season, before the competition was abandoned due to COVID-19. The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) awarded Juventus the title on June 25. The three-year-old club has never progressed past the Round of 32 in two previous Champions League appearances, losing to Brøndby IF 3-2 in 2018 and eventual semifinalists Barcelona 4-1 in 2019.
The first leg will be played in Turin on December 8 or 9, with the return leg to be played in France on December 15 or 16.
Six Lyon Players Called Up By Les Bleues
France head coach Corinne Diacre has named a half-dozen Olympique Lyonnais Féminin players to France’s roster for the nation’s final two UEFA Women’s Championship group stage qualifiers against Austria on November 27 and Kazakhstan on December 1.
France can guarantee the top spot in Group G (and the automatic qualifying slot) with a win over Austria due to the use of head-to-head points as the primary tiebreaker. The two sides played to a scoreless draw on October 27.
The call-ups include midfielder Amandine Henry, who was “shocked” to have been previously left off Diacre’s list for the previous international window. Henry has scored two goals and added one assist in seven league appearances for OL this season.
OL Players Called in by France:
Defenders: Sakina Karchaoui, Wendie Renard
Midfielders: Amandine Henry, Amel Majri
Forwards: Delphine Cascarino, Eugénie Le Sommer*
*Le Sommer suffered a hamstring injury in the match against PSG on November 20 and is expected to miss two weeks.
Lyon Climbs into Third After Angers Road Win
Olympique Lyonnais (5-1-5, 20 points, 3rd) hit the Ligue 1 Uber Eats top three on Sunday, following a 1-0 win on the road over Angers SCO (5-5-1, 16 points, 11th). Zimbabwean forward Tino Kadewere has been red hot for Lyon, scoring four goals and notching an assist in his last five matches.
Kadewere struck late for Lyon, trapping a looping cross from Léo Dubois with his chest before volleying it home in the 78th minute.
With the win, Lyon have now taken 13 points from their last five matches and have extended their unbeaten run to eight matches.
OL Drops Result at Rivals PSG
Olympique Lyonnais Féminin (8-1-0, 24 points, 2nd) lost its first D1 Arkema match in nearly four calendar years on Friday, dropping a 1-0 result to Paris Saint-Germain (8-0-1, 25 points) at the Parc des Princes in Paris.
The home side scored the game-winner in the 11th minute, when Marie-Antoinette Kototo ran on to a through ball from Kadidiatou Diani and slotted it past a charging Sarah Bouhaddi.
The task of finding an equalizer became tougher when Lyon forward Eugénie Le Sommer pulled up with a hamstring injury before the half-hour mark, necessitating a substitution that saw Nikita Parris enter the match.
OL had a chance to level the score in the 17th minute, when Dzenifer Marozsán struck a free kick from a wide position just outside the penalty area across the face of goal. Before it could find a teammate, however, PSG keeper Christiane Endler leapt off her line and punched the ball away.
The defeat was Lyon’s first in league play since December 12, 2016, when it dropped a 1-0 road result to PSG at the Stade Municipal Georges Lefèvre. OL went on to finish that season 21-1-0 to win its 11th league title.
Upcoming Matches Around OL
Olympique Lyonnais vs. Stade de Reims – Groupama Stadium, Décines-Charpieu, France – Sunday, November 29, 4:00 a.m. PT