France’s Division 1 Féminine has a new champion.

Paris Saint-Germain took home the league’s trophy Friday, squashing Lyon’s 14-year stint at the top of the table. PSG secured the division title with a 3-0 win over Dijon, a fitting end to a historic season.

The two teams have a storied past, with PSG finishing second to Lyon in the Division 1 Féminine title race eight times. Back in April, PSG ended another of Lyon’s winning streaks, beating the club in the Women’s Champions League quarterfinal. PSG’s stunning upset denied Lyon its sixth consecutive Champion’s League trophy.

PSG’s 2020-2021 championship is the first-ever Division 1 Féminine title for the club.

After a 1-1 draw in the first leg of the Champions League semifinal, PSG and Barcelona both knew it all came down to Sunday’s match-up.

With a spot in the final on the line, both teams came out swinging.

It was Barcelona who struck first, though, with Lieke Martens putting away a gorgeous curled ball in the 8th minute to put her team up 1-0.

The Dutch winger added her name to the scoresheet again in the 31st minute, tapping in a well-placed cross from teammate Caroline Graham Hansen.

Less than five minutes later, PSG responded with a goal of their own. Marie-Antoinette Katoto punched in a loose ball off a PSG corner, cutting Barcelona’s lead in half.

PSG stayed competitive in the second half but failed to create any meaningful goalscoring opportunities to even the score with Barcelona.

With PSG at bay, Barcelona hung on to their narrow 2-1 lead, securing their place in the Champions League Final.

Barcelona will face off against Chelsea for the title on May 16.

MATCH INFO: Paris Saint-Germain vs Barcelona (Leg 1 of 2), Stade Municipal Georges Lefèvre, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France

Kickoff: April 25th, 2021, at 9:00 a.m. EST

Paris Saint-Germain will host Barcelona for the first leg of the UEFA Women’s Champions League semi-final. Here’s how both teams got here.

PSG were drawn against Olympique Lyonnais in the quarter finals, who are widely considered the best team in the world. They’ve won seven Champions League titles and the last five in a row, becoming the team to beat in the competition. 

In the first leg, Lyon did what they do best: they won. A single penalty from Wendie Renard gave them the advantage going into the second leg, which looked to be headed in a similar direction after Catarina Macario scored in the 4th minute to give Lyon a two-goal aggregate advantage. 

However, PSG were able to answer back a mere 20 minutes later, with a fantastic goal from midfielder  Grace Geyoro, her first of the 202/21 Champions League campaign. 

After halftime, PSG continued to push in an effort to find a goal that would put them through to the next round on away goals. Lyon were quite sloppy in possession with misplaced passes, and it seemed like it’d only be a matter of time before PSG scored another. The needed goal came in the 61st minute, with Renard scoring an own goal in an attempt to cut off PSG’s Kadidiatou Diani’s cross into the box.

The goal gave Paris Saint-Germain the 2-1 lead, and they held on until the final whistle. With the final score being 2-2 on aggregate, the Parisians advanced on away goals to the semi-finals, ending Lyon’s five-year streak as European champions.

PSG’s opponents in the semi-finals, Barcelona, knocked out English powerhouse Manchester City with a final score of 4-2 on aggregate, in what may have been the biggest surprise of the quarter finals. 

Barcelona comfortably beat Man City 3-0 in the first leg, with the first goal coming off a smart finish from Asisat Oshoala in the 35th minute. Going into half-time at 1-0, the match was far from over, but City struggled to contain Oshoala, and the striker won a penalty early in the second half that teammate Mariona Caldentey converted. 

Jennifer Hermoso scored Barca’s third after a shot hit the post, giving Man City the daunting task of needing to score at least four goals in the second leg in Manchester.

Things started off well for City in the second leg, with Janine Beckie scoring within the first twenty minutes. 

However, Oshoala once again continuously caused the home-side problems. She scored in the 59th minute, easing any pressure Barca was facing. 

Sam Mewis scored a penalty about ten minutes later, but of course, it wasn’t enough for the English side to qualify.

Both Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona faced tough opponents in the quarters, and both teams showed exactly why they deserve to be in the competition. 

Each club has made it to the final of the UWCL before, but have failed to get their hands on the coveted trophy. Now they have a chance to make the leap.

For PSG, they’ve already dispatched their domestic rivals. But losing in the semis would sour that achievement. For Barcelona, meanwhile, now is their chance to prove that they belong in the discussion of Europe’s best club. Fireworks should be expected.

It’s the end of an era for Olympique Lyonnais.

The seven-time champion was 31 games unbeaten in the Champions League until Sunday, when Paris Saint-Germain turned the tables and won the return leg of the semifinal 2-1. 

It was the home leg for Lyon as they entered up 1-0 from Paris. After just four minutes, American striker Catarina Macario put them ahead further with the first goal of the game. 

But PSG didn’t go quietly. 

Midfielder Grace Geyoro struck midway through the first half to begin the comeback for Les Feminines. 

The winner came from an own-goal by central defender Wendie Renard, who was the lone goal for Lyon in Paris. 

With the tie levelled at 2-2, PSG edged ahead on away goals to take the win. 

“I don’t think we realise what we’ve done yet. We played a great game collectively from start to finish,” Geyoro said. “We knew we had to come here and score two goals. And we did that. We never gave up.”

PSG, who have never won the women’s Champions League, will face Barcelona for a place in the final starting Sunday, April 25. Bayern Munich will play Chelsea in the other semifinal. 

It seems as though Louisville FC really is looking to float like a butterfly and sting like a bee. 

Less than a week after it was reported that Lyon and Barcelona are to play in Portland this summer, the final two squads for The Women’s Cup in Louisville were announced today in a press conference. 

Global soccer powerhouses FC Bayern Munich and Paris-Saint Germain are set to play Louisville FC and the Chicago Red Stars in the inaugural event at Lynn Family Stadium on Aug. 18 and 21. 

“We are very excited to bring two of the world’s best clubs to town for The Women’s Cup,” said TWC director J.P. Reynal in the press conference. “PSG and Bayern will give local favorites Racing Louisville and the Chicago Red Stars a chance to compete on an international stage.”

FC Bayern currently sit atop the table in Germany’s highest division, the Bundesliga. Looking for its first league title since the 2015-2016 season, the club will face Chelsea in the UEFA Women’s Champions league semi finals.

“FC Bayern is the world’s biggest sports family with an incredible following in North America. It is important to connect with our fans on their home soil whenever possible,” said Rudolf Vidal, FC Bayern Munich President of the Americas. “We look forward to bringing our women’s team stars to Louisville and participating in the very first Women’s Cup.”

Meanwhile Paris-Saint Germain currently sit atop Division 1 Féminine in pursuit of its first league crown. They’ll meet Lyon in the Champions League quarterfinal match on April 18th.

The Red Stars are also a force to be reckoned with, finishing runner up to the Houston Dash in last year’s Challenge Cup. 

The announcement was highlighted by Victoire Cogevina, UN Ambassador for Women’s Soccer, who endorsed The Women’s Cup on behalf of the United Nations.

 

MATCH INFO:

Juventus vs Olympique Lyonnais: UEFA Champions League – Leg 1 – Round of 32

Allianz Stadium, Turin, Italy

Kickoff: December 9th, 2020, at 9:00 a.m. EST

The UEFA Champions League is back, with the knockout round beginning this week as 32 of the best teams in Europe gear up to compete for the most prestigious prize in club football.

With the first legs of the Round of 32 matches set to be played on December 9th and 10th, there are several highly anticipated matchups which promise to deliver the usual Champions League fireworks. But no matchup looks to be bigger than that between Juventus and Olympique Lyonnais, the first leg of which will take place in Turin, Italy.

Juve currently tops the Serie A table and has won the league title the last three seasons. That’s a pretty good resume, until you compare it to Lyon’s. The 14-time defending French league champs have won the Champions League title the past five years and seven times overall. They begin their latest title defense looking to cement their status as one of the dynasties the sport has ever seen.

Olympique Lyonnais is considered the best and most successful women’s football club in the world. In the past decade, Lyon has won over 25 trophies, and given the money, resources, and development that the club has put into their current squad and coaching staff, it doesn’t look like their winning ways are stopping anytime soon.

Last year, Juventus was knocked out in the Round of 32 by Barcelona, who made it all the way to the semi-finals. A disappointing result, but for a club that was only founded in 2017, Juventus has made great strides both domestically and in Europe.

When the Champions League comes along, teams dread being drawn against Lyon. For the past five years, it has meant a quick ticket out of the competition. Lyon’s history, experience, and strength on the pitch makes them almost impossible to beat.

If Juventus wants to advance to the Round of 16, the team will likely need to mimic what Paris Saint-Germain did against Lyon in late November of this year. PSG were able to shock Lyon in a Division 1 Féminine match, beating them 1-0.

Lyon’s defeat was more than just a loss to a rival; it was their first league defeat in four years. Before the match, Lyon sat atop the Division 1 Féminine standings, with Paris one point behind them. After the loss, Lyon moved to second, and have stayed behind PSG since.

Juventus not only has a gameplan to mimic, but they can take solace in the fact that Lyon has been playing a full-strength XI every week in hopes of catching up with Paris Saint-Germain. In contrast, Juventus, with nine wins in nine matches played, has been able to rest key players in the build-up to this match.

Fans of both teams will be hoping that they have enough to beat the other, of course, but neutrals will be hoping for a classic matchup that showcases all of the usual drama we’ve come to associate with the UEFA Champions League. Whatever happens during this tie, one of Europe’s best teams will be crashing out in the Round of 32.

Other exciting matchups in this round include Ajax vs Bayern Munich and PSV Eindhoven vs Barcelona. FAWSL teams Chelsea and Manchester City will likewise take on SL Benfica and Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC respectively, while last season’s runner ups, VfL Wolfsburg, will take on ŽFK Spartak Subotica.