Soccer
Renee Slegers believes “everything is different” for Arsenal this time around in the Women’s Champions League semi-finals, as they head to Lyon with a lead to protect.
Arsenal came from behind to earn a 2-1 victory over Lyon in the first leg, with a Christine Endler own goal and a strike from Olivia Smith cancelling out Jule Brand’s opener.
The two teams faced off in the final four last term as well, though Arsenal faced a much different proposition in the second leg, having gone down 2-1 to Lyon at the Emirates.
The Gunners rallied the following week in France, coming away with a 4-1 win before going on to beat Barcelona in the final.
Asked if Arsenal could use last year’s experience for this game, Slegers insisted there were few comparisons to be drawn between the two fixtures.
“It’s very simple, I think you can’t compare the two occasions,” she said.
“Everything is different this year; the scenario is different as well. Last time we were 2-1 down, now we’re 2-1 up, so everything is different.
“We have to earn the right again from the very start, so I don’t compare the two occasions.
“Yes, we’ve been to the city, yes, I recognise this hall and the pitch, that will be there, but we have to start all over again.”
Ready for tomorrow’s test pic.twitter.com/5dyIIUx0lo
— Arsenal Women (@ArsenalWFC) May 1, 2026
Arsenal are looking to become the first English side to reach the Champions League final in consecutive seasons.
In fact, other than Arsenal last season, the only other instances of English teams reaching the final are the Gunners in 2006-07 and Chelsea in 2020-21.
The current holders have not been eliminated from the Champions League at the semi-final stage since 2015-16, when Eintracht Frankfurt lost over two legs to Wolfsburg. All seven who have reached this round since then have progressed to the final.
But Lyon will be looking to ensure that trend is broken at Groupama Stadium, though they have lost two of their last three games in the competition (W1), as many defeats as they suffered in their previous 28 matches combined (W23 D3 L2).
At home, however, they have won 10 of their last 11 outings, though the other game in that run was a 4-1 defeat to Arsenal in last season’s semi-final second leg.
“We’ve already beaten Arsenal [2-1 at Meadow Park on Matchday 1],” Lyon head coach Jonatan Giraldez said.
“We want to have the possession and apply high pressure. The match dynamic will be different; we’ll need to show personality at home.
“We haven’t changed anything this week. The priority is to raise our level, to be attentive to our game plan and to find a better balance.
“[We need to] improve our attacking level and be superior to the opponent to qualify.”
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