Arsenal stuns 8-time champ Lyon with 4-1 away win to reach Women's Champions League final

Arsenal stunned Lyon with a 4-1 away win to reach the Women’s Champions League final at the eight-time champion’s expense on Sunday.

Lyon, previously unbeaten across all competitions this season, won the first leg of their semifinal 2-1 in London last week. But goals from Mariona Caldentey, Alessio Russo and Caitlin Foord – after an own-goal from Lyon goalkeeper Christiane Endler – gave Arsenal a 5-3 win on aggregate and set up a showdown with defending champion Barcelona in the final.

Barcelona had earlier routed Chelsea 4-1 – after also winning 4-1 in the first leg of their semifinal match – to book its place in the final at Lisbon’s 50,000-capacity Estádio José Alvalade on May 24.

But the Catalan side won’t relish playing an Arsenal team that seems to relish adversity, with the London team coming from behind in both the quarterfinals and semifinals after losing first legs against Real Madrid and now Lyon.

The French team was hoping to avenge its final defeat to Barcelona last year as it tried reaching the final for a record 12th time. It never looked likely as Arsenal attacked from the start and only conceded late when Melchie Dumornay pulled one back in the 81st minute.

Endler made a brilliant early save to deny Kim Little, but the visitors scored from the resulting corner when Chloe Kelly’s delivery was headed by Lyon defender Damaris Egurrola off Endler’s back from where it rebounded in.

Caldentey struck a brilliant shot from distance inside the top right corner before halftime, and it got worse for Lyon after the break with Russo surging through Lyon’s falling defenders to make it 3-0 within a minute of the restart. Foord capitalized on another slip in the Lyon defense to seal the win in the 63rd.

It meant Lyon conceded more goals in one game than it had in the entire Champions League all season.

For Arsenal, the only English team to win the competition, it will be a first final appearance since beating Umeå for the trophy in 2007.

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Lyon's Damaris Egurrola and Ellie Carpenter, right, react at the end the women's Champions League semifinals, second leg, soccer match between Olympique Lyonnais and Arsenal at OL Stadium in Decines, outside Lyon, France, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Arsenal's Caitlin Foord and Lyon's Ellie Carpenter, background, eye the ball during the women's Champions League semifinals, second leg, soccer match between Olympique Lyonnais and Arsenal at OL Stadium in Decines, outside Lyon, France, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Arsenal goalkeepers Manuela Zinsberger, left, and Daphne van Domselaar celebrate after defeating Lyon 4-1 in their women's Champions League semifinals, second leg, soccer match at OL Stadium in Decines, outside Lyon, France, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Arsenal's Mariona Caldentey, left, celebrates after scoring her side's second goal during the women's Champions League semifinals, second leg, soccer match between Olympique Lyonnais and Arsenal at OL Stadium in Decines, outside Lyon, France, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Lyon's Damaris Egurrola, 2nd right, heads the ball before Lyon goalkeeper Christiane Endler deflects the ball into her own goal to give Arsenal the opening goal during the women's Champions League semifinals, second leg, soccer match between Olympique Lyonnais and Arsenal at OL Stadium in Decines, outside Lyon, France, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Arsenal's Alessia Russo celebrates with Caitlin Foord, right, after scoring her side's third goal during the women's Champions League semifinals, second leg, soccer match between Olympique Lyonnais and Arsenal at OL Stadium in Decines, outside Lyon, France, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Arsenal's Caitlin Foord celebrates with Mariona Caldentey after scoring her side's fourth goal during the women's Champions League semifinals, second leg, soccer match between Olympique Lyonnais and Arsenal at OL Stadium in Decines, outside Lyon, France, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Arsenal's Caitlin Foord scores her side's fourth goal during the women's Champions League semifinals, second leg, soccer match between Olympique Lyonnais and Arsenal at OL Stadium in Decines, outside Lyon, France, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Arsenal's Alessia Russo, back to camera, celebrates after scoring her side's third goal during the women's Champions League semifinals, second leg, soccer match between Olympique Lyonnais and Arsenal at OL Stadium in Decines, outside Lyon, France, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Arsenal's Alessia Russo celebrates with Caitlin Foord, right, after scoring her side's third goal during the women's Champions League semifinals, second leg, soccer match between Olympique Lyonnais and Arsenal at OL Stadium in Decines, outside Lyon, France, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Arsenal's Alessia Russo scores her side's third goal during the women's Champions League semifinals, second leg, soccer match between Olympique Lyonnais and Arsenal at OL Stadium in Decines, outside Lyon, France, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Two goals from Igor Matanovic were not enough to stop Europa League finalist Freiburg losing 3-2 at Hamburger SV in the Bundesliga on Sunday.

Bakery Jatta opened the scoring for Hamburg when he was left unmarked but Matanovic soon leveled for Freiburg. Goals from Luka Vušković and Fabio Baldé put Hamburg back in control in the second half and Matanović's 87th-minute header proved only a consolation goal for Freiburg.

The loss is a blow to seventh-place Freiburg's hopes of qualifying for the Conference League via the Bundesliga. Freiburg could yet end up in the Champions League with a win over Aston Villa in the final of the Europa League on May 20. Hamburg moves up a place to 11th.

Later Sunday, last-place Heidenheim takes on Cologne needing at least a point to keep its hopes of avoiding relegation.

Heidenheim coach Frank Schmidt has been in charge for 19 years, overseeing promotion from the regional fourth tier and even a European campaign in the Conference League last season. He has yet to experience relegation.

The bottom two teams are relegated automatically and the team in 16th faces a two-leg promotion-relegation playoff against a team from the second division.

Also Sunday, pioneering coach Marie-Louise Eta and her Union Berlin team take on Mainz. Union remains winless as Eta heads into her fourth game in charge as the first female head coach in Europe's top five major men's leagues. Union, which is safe from relegation, is aiming to build on a draw last week against Cologne.

Eta's five-game interim head coach stint is due to end next week when Union hosts Augsburg in its last game of the season. She has already agreed to take charge of the Union women's team for next season.

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Hamburger's Luka Vuskovic, centre, celebrates with Nicolai Remberg, second from left, and Nicolas Capaldo after scoring his side's second goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Hamburger SV and Sport-Club Freiburg in Hamburg, Germany, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (Marcus Brandt/dpa via AP)