U.S. women’s national team midfielder Lindsey Horan marked her first start for Lyon with an assist on Thursday as the French club qualified for the semi-finals of the Women’s Champions League.
Horan joined the club in late January, signing on loan from the Portland Thorns until June 2023. It meant a return to France after six years away, having played for Paris Saint-Germain for four seasons before moving back to the United States.
USWNT team-mate Catarina Macario also continued to star as she has done since joining last January, scoring a sensational goal as Lyon progressed to the semis.
What happened?
Horan's inclusion in the starting XI on Thursday was one of three changes Sonia Bompastor made to her Lyon team from last week's UWCL quarter-final first leg, which Juventus won 2-1 in Turin.
The 27-year-old has had a slow start to life with the seven-time European champions due to a knee injury, which also ruled her out of the 2022 SheBelieves Cup, but showed how effective she can be for this team on Thursday.
Next Match
It took the team 33 minutes to erase Juve’s lead, when Ada Hegerberg, the first ever Ballon d’Or Feminin winner, scored. Just two minutes later, Horan whipped in a superb cross for Melvine Malard and the forward headed it home to allow the French club to go ahead in the tie, leading 3-2 on aggregate.
The goal of the night came in the second half when Macario got her name on the scoresheet - and deservedly so after a really positive performance.
There were 73 minutes on the clock when Delphine Cascarino played a ball into the box for the 22-year-old, who took it exceptionally well, turning her marker with an exquisite first touch before firing the ball into the back of the net.
Juventus substitute Andrea Staskova would get a goal back for the visitors, but a 3-1 win for Lyon on the night made it 4-3 on aggregate and was enough to send the Champions League's most successive club into the last four of the competition, with them to face a familiar foe in PSG in next month's semi-finals.
Heath’s Arsenal eliminated
It wasn’t so great a night for another American star, with Tobin Heath and Arsenal knocked out by Wolfsburg.
Heath, a two-time World Cup winner and Olympic gold medallist with her country, started for the Gunners in Germany, having made an excellent impact from the bench in last week’s first leg.
The 33-year-old drilled in a free-kick late on in that game that allowed centre-back Lotte Wubben-Moy to equalise as the English club came from behind to get a 1-1 result.
However it was a difficult night for Heath in the second leg, with the winger substituted at half-time as head coach Jonas Eidevall brought Caitlin Foord on in her place.
Wolfsburg, twice European champions, ran out 2-0 winners in the end, with former Arsenal midfielder Jill Roord scoring after nine minutes before a cruel own goal from Leah Williamson in the second half added to the hosts’ lead.