Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Chelsea and Lyon advanced to the UEFA Women’s Champions League semifinals on Wednesday. Lyon will play Chelsea in one semifinal, while Bayern and Barcelona will meet in the other in late April.
Three-time defending champions Lyon outlasted perennial nemesis Wolfsburg, winning Wednesday’s second leg, 4-2 and the aggregate series, 6-3. Lyon held a 2-1 lead after the first leg and jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on Wednesday, but Pernille Harder scored twice in four minutes early in the second half to make things interesting. Eugénie Le Sommer would respond, however, with two goals of her own to become just the eighth player to score 40 goals in the Champions League. Lyon has knocked Wolfsburg out of the competition for the fourth year running — twice in the final.
French rival Paris Saint-Germain were ousted by Chelsea in stoppage time of their second leg when Maren Mjelde got on the end of Karen Carney’s pass. The series was level on aggregate at 2-2 until that point.
Elsewhere, Lieke Martens’ seventh-minute goal sealed Barcelona’s win over LSK Kvinner. Barca advanced 4-0 on aggregate. Bayern Munich also put to bed any looming doubt from their first leg against Slavia Praha, defeating the Czech side 5-1 on the day and 6-2 on aggregate. Mandy Islacker scored twice for Bayern.
Bayern, Barcelona and Chelsea are all in search of their first appearance in a UWCL final.
The semifinals will be played on April 20/21 and April 27/28. The final is on May 18 in Budapest.
READ MORE: In search of their first UWCL title…
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