LONDON (AP) — Arsenal benefited from two defensive blunders to rally for a 2-1 win over Lyon in the first leg of the Women's Champions League semifinals on Sunday, keeping the English club on course to defend its title.
Trailing to Jule Brand's 19th-minute goal for record eight-time champion Lyon, Arsenal was gifted an equalizer in the 59th when Mariona Caldentey's low free kick into the area was fumbled backward by goalkeeper Christiane Endler and onto the post. Lyon center back Ingrid Engen, stretching to make the clearance, inadvertently turned the ball into her own net.
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OL Lyonnes' Jule Brand, center, celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the Women's Champions League semi-final, first leg soccer match between Arsenal and OL Lyonnes in London, England, Sunday April 26, 2026. (Andrew Matthews/PA via AP)
OL Lyonnes' goalkeeper Christiane Endler, right, reacts as Arsenal's Stina Blackstenius, left, celebrates her side's first goal during the Women's Champions League semi-final, first leg soccer match between Arsenal and OL Lyonnes in London, England, Sunday April 26, 2026. (Andrew Matthews/PA via AP)
Arsenal's Olivia Smith celebrates scoring her side's second goal during the Women's Champions League semi-final, first leg soccer match between Arsenal and OL Lyonnes in London, England, Sunday, April 26, 2026. (Andrew Matthews/PA via AP)
Arsenal's players celebrate their side's second goal scored by Olivia Smith during the Women's Champions League semi-final, first leg soccer match between Arsenal and OL Lyonnes in London, England, Sunday, April 26, 2026. (Andrew Matthews/PA via AP)
Engen compounded that mistake by misreading a back-pass from teammate Lindsey Heaps in the 83rd minute. Olivia Smith got to the ball ahead of Engen, had a shot saved by Endler, and recovered to convert the rebound.
The return match is in Lyon on Saturday.
In the other semifinal, Bayern Munich and Barcelona are locked at 1-1 after the first leg in Germany.
The final will be in Oslo on May 23.
Arsenal is seeking to beat Lyon in the semifinal stage for a second straight year. Last season, Lyon won the first leg at Emirates Stadium but was thrashed 4-1 in the second match en route to Arsenal winning the title for the second time.
This time, Arsenal holds the advantage at halfway.
“Lyon are giants of European football and have a great crowd like we do,” Arsenal captain Leah Williamson said. "So an intensity that matches that occasion will be key. We have to be really clinical, defensively secure and we’ll see.”
A tight first half was illuminated by the solo goal from Brand, who ran through the heart of Arsenal's defense down the inside-left channel and cut into the area before shooting low inside the post.
In between Arsenal's goals, Lyon forward Kadidiatou Diani crashed a shot off the crossbar.
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OL Lyonnes' Jule Brand, center, celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the Women's Champions League semi-final, first leg soccer match between Arsenal and OL Lyonnes in London, England, Sunday April 26, 2026. (Andrew Matthews/PA via AP)
OL Lyonnes' goalkeeper Christiane Endler, right, reacts as Arsenal's Stina Blackstenius, left, celebrates her side's first goal during the Women's Champions League semi-final, first leg soccer match between Arsenal and OL Lyonnes in London, England, Sunday April 26, 2026. (Andrew Matthews/PA via AP)
Arsenal's Olivia Smith celebrates scoring her side's second goal during the Women's Champions League semi-final, first leg soccer match between Arsenal and OL Lyonnes in London, England, Sunday, April 26, 2026. (Andrew Matthews/PA via AP)
Arsenal's players celebrate their side's second goal scored by Olivia Smith during the Women's Champions League semi-final, first leg soccer match between Arsenal and OL Lyonnes in London, England, Sunday, April 26, 2026. (Andrew Matthews/PA via AP)
Chelsea’s season might be unraveling but it will still include an appearance in the FA Cup final.
Enzo Fernandez’s 23rd-minute header secured Chelsea a 1-0 win over Leeds in the semifinals on Sunday, setting up a meeting with Manchester City in the May 16 title match back at Wembley Stadium.
Chelsea’s run in the FA Cup is salvaging a campaign that has veered off the rails after a humiliating exit from the Champions League — 8-2 on aggregate to Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16 — and five straight losses in the Premier League that marks the team’s worst run of league results in 114 years and led to the midweek dismissal of manager Liam Rosenior.
Calum McFarlane, Rosenior’s unheralded and inexperienced assistant, has taken control of Chelsea until the end of the season and he will now be leading the team back out at Wembley next month, in search of what would be the club's ninth FA Cup title and a first since 2018.
“It was important to break the momentum and the form we were in," McFarlane said. “We were confident we would do that today and I think this completely changes the feel within the group.”
Fernandez met a right-wing cross from Pedro Neto with a firm header low into the net for the only goal. The Argentina midfielder recently courted controversy by speaking publicly about wanting to live in Madrid, earning him a two-match suspension by the team, but McFarlane was happy to give Fernandez the captain's armband against Leeds.
“He's a winner — he's got so much talent, so much fight, he's massive for this group,” McFarlane said.
Leeds, seeking to reach a first FA Cup final since 1973, piled on the pressure in the second half and Sanchez notably produced a stunning, one-handed save to keep out a piledriver from Anton Stach.
“You could feel the boys were a bit too nervous today to be at their free-flowing best,” said Leeds manager Daniel Farke, whose priority this season has been to keep the team in the Premier League.
“They always had an answer to all our questions that we asked,” he added about Chelsea. "It’s hard to take anyhow, but nevertheless I’m proud of the cup run.”
City rallied to beat second-tier Southampton 2-1 on Saturday to advance to the final and stay on course for a domestic treble. Pep Guardiola's team already has won the English League Cup and is battling with Arsenal for the Premier League title.
McFarlane also briefly took charge of Chelsea between the firing of Enzo Maresca and the hiring of Rosenior in January. Of his two games at the helm, one was a 1-1 draw at City in the league.
“They're an exceptional side in really good form,” McFarlane said of City, where he once had a spell as a coach in its academy. “So it's going to be a massive challenge but I think there's something about this (Chelsea) group — the bigger the game, the tougher the opponent and the circumstance, they seem to raise their level.”
Chelsea was most recently in the FA Cup final in 2022, when it lost to Liverpool on penalties. That marked a third straight loss in the competition's title match and Chelsea has lost its last six domestic cup finals.
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Leeds' Ethan Ampadu, left, and Chelsea's Romeo Lavia argue by the touchline during the FA Cup semifinal soccer match between Chelsea and Leeds in London, England, Sunday, April 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Chelsea's interim manager Calum McFarlane sits on the bench during the FA Cup semifinal soccer match between Chelsea and Leeds in London, England, Sunday, April 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Chelsea's interim manager Calum McFarlane speaks with Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez during the FA Cup semifinal soccer match between Chelsea and Leeds in London, England, Sunday, April 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez, center, scores his side's opening goal during the FA Cup semifinal soccer match between Chelsea and Leeds in London, England, Sunday, April 26, 2026. (Nick Potts/PA via AP)
Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez celebrates after scoring during the FA Cup semifinal soccer match between Chelsea and Leeds in London, England, Sunday, April 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
