#lyon and psg are goals

[chelseajackarmy]

Via PSG on Instagram

[dmdigitalmarketingagency]

Kylian Mbappe becomes Paris Saint-Germain's all-time top scorer, breaks Edinson Cavani's record

Kylian Mbappe becomes Paris Saint-Germain’s all-time top scorer, breaks Edinson Cavani’s record Summary: Kylian Mbappe, the French forward, has broken the all-time scoring record for Paris Saint-Germain, surpassing Edinson Cavani’s previous record of 200 goals. Mbappe achieved the feat during a 4-2 victory over Lyon in Ligue 1 on Sunday, March 5th, 2023. The 24-year-old Mbappe, who joined PSG in…

[meazalykov]

invisible string theory

lena oberdorf x uswnt!bayern!reader

part one - part two - part three

summary: you're with her now, but you've known of her for longer than that.

warnings: long chapter, suggestive content

back in the united states, you were heartbroken. 

due to the contract that gotham had with lyon, there wasn’t a possibility that lyon could permanently sign you. the french club tried to sign you for another loan year with a mandatory buy option, but gotham didn’t want that. 

so now you’re here, dressed in a gotham kit watching the team play the chicago red stars from the bench. 

its the 70th minute and you had your arms crossed sitting on the bench. your national teammate, mallory, and your other friend midge sat beside you after coming off minutes before. 

“my ankle is killing me, i might have to go to medic after this game ends.” mallory hissed as she held onto her ankle. sometime after halftime, a chicago red stars player kicked the back of mallory’s ankle on accident. 

“you should, its bruised!” you say as you observe her ankle from your seat, your hands still crossed together as midge decides to hold your right arm in comfort. 

midge turns her head and noticed the coach, yes the coach that's not happy with you, coming your way. 

“y/n.” midge tapped your shoulder. you looked to your right to see the coach looking at you with an unreadable expression on his face. 

“y/n, you should warm up, you’re going on in the 80th minute.” the coach says before going back to observe the game. 

your eyebrows knitted together before you quickly took off your windbreaker jacket. being a benchwarmer the last two games since coming back from france was something you were starting to get used to until another club put in their offers. 

the coach has received a bunch of hate in the media because of you. which kind of soccer coach wouldn’t start one of the best players in the world? well, a coach with an agenda– that's for sure. 

being subbed into the game five minutes later, you already had the ball at your feet. as you run across the pitch and dribble pass a few chicago players, you pass up to carli lloyd. 

the striker takes the shot but it deflects off of the post. luckily, the ball landed back on your blue cleat and you tapped the ball into the goal. opening up the score 1-0 for gotham before the 90th minute. 

knowing your situation at gotham, you didn’t celebrate as happily as you did back when you scored at lyon. all you did was put your hands up high as your teammates gathered around to hug you. 

“i’m pretty sure that this is a good moment after being back from winning the champions league in europe.” a commentator says as you go back into the starting position as an attacking midfielder. 

“that’s my girl!” you heard midge yell from the benches. you look over to see her and mallory with the brightest smiles as you nod your head at them. 

you loved your teammates, but you wanted to be at another club more than anything. 

after the game that afternoon, your agent called you. 

she said that many clubs in europe wanted to sign you– permanently. 

that's all you wanted, you didn’t want to take a loan deal and attach yourself to another club just to come back here again. you wanted a new permanent home. it's 2020 and the transfer window in europe will close soon.

she said that psg was the first to put in an offer for you, but you immediately declined. somehow, you felt loyal to lyon and didn’t want to join paris. 

the next clubs she mentioned were real madrid, manchester united, ajax, and aston villa. you declined on those as well, not really seeing yourself in those clubs. 

even though bayern munich wasn’t the last club on the list, you were interested in that offer once your agent mentioned it. 

your agent mentioned that the coach personally wanted you at the club, and the club offered a good amount of benefits.

so, after a few days of deciding, you were in germany signing a contract with the bavarian club until 2025. 

over the months, you adjusted to the club perfectly. you got along with the girls, made a promise that you’ll learn to speak german, and your new best friend sydney was there to guide you. 

in november 2020, you were in the starting lineup to play against wolfsburg. 

this is your first time going up against the green team since you were with the french club, so you were ready to face them again. 

as you were standing in the tunnel, you talked with lineth beerensteyn about what to expect. this is your first start with the club, since the coach wanted you to get familiar with the games first. this was fair and something you went through with lyon as well. 

“its nice to face them again.” you respond to lineth after she asked you how you felt about wolfsburg. she smirks at you before pinching your shoulder. 

“oh yeah– i forgot we have a champions league winner on our hands.” she laughed. you rolled your eyes playfully as you shook your head. 

“don’t forget about the world cup.” sydney lohmann joins in. your jaw dropped as you shook your head again. 

“okay let's not talk about me, lets talk about the upcoming match” you say. 

“you’re right you’re right,” lineth laughs at her teasing towards you, “games against wolfsburg get pretty intense when you’re with bayern. they’re the “rivals” or whatever you want to say.” she continued. 

“just make sure that you take advantage of any opportunity you see. some of the midfielders will go for your ankles so i’d watch out for that too. things can get heated” the dutch finished. 

you nodded your head as you observed the wolfsburg players around the tunnel. some, like svenja and dominique, patted your back since you’re happy to see you again but in the bundesliga. 

before you walked ahead to talk to sydney, you felt a hand on your left shoulder. 

“so– what brings you here?” you look over your shoulder to see lena. 

honestly, you forgot about her after the champions league final. you have her jersey in your apartment along with other players' jerseys you’ve traded with in the past, but things were stressful for you when you went back home. 

“beating you again.” you teased. lena placed her hand over her heart before giggling, 

“not that! i mean it's nice to see you in this league.” she says. 

“oh danke– sorry– the adjustment here was easy thankfully.” you smile. 

lena wraps her arm around your shoulder, causing you to feel warm on the inside, does she know what she is doing to you? 

“that’s good– it would’ve been nice to see you in our jersey though.” lena whispers. you look over at her, your voice caught into your throat. 

“um- no thanks. i would miss getting my ankles broken by you if we were on the same team.” you tease. she unwraps her arm from your body, and pats you on the shoulders with a smirk, before going back to where the wolfsburg substitutes are without saying anything else. 

“y/n.. how do you know lena?” sydney walks up to you with her eyebrows knitted together. she looked curious, smiling, as you crossed your arms together. 

“we met during some adidas event at the world cup. well- i met giulia actually but lena just happened to be there and-” 

“and you guys are dating? why didn’t you tell-”

“woah syd slow down! we aren’t dating?” you cut her off. 

sydney smirks at you before laughing, realizing what the conversation turned into. 

“i’m sorry. you guys looked very flirty and familiar with each other.” sydney said as she rested her arm on your shoulder. you shrugged the other shoulder. 

“I mean the last time I talked to her was at the champions league final last season. she's cute but i don’t know if she even sees me that way?” you whisper in sydneys ear. 

you’re comfortable talking about this with sydney. she’s become your best friend since arriving in germany, but it feels like you’ve known her for longer than that. 

“the way that she looked at you, i would say she does.” sydney comments. 

you were going to question that but everyone started to lineup in the tunnel to head out. so, all you could do is wonder with your thoughts as you walked out to start the game. 

a year later, you were waiting at the airport in wolfsburg after a last minute decision. 

after that game in november 2020, lena and you started following each other on instagram. the both of you got each other's phone numbers and have been in touch everyday since. 

due to not being on the same club team, or national team, you didn’t see lena much– if not at all. 

randomly, as you were in your kitchen hours before– lena texted you. 

obi

we should go to this new restaurant that opened up downtown wolfsburg 

y/n 

how? i’m in munich.. 

obi 

check your email. 

when you checked your email, you saw that she sent you a confirmation and a plane ticket for wolfsburg. you jaw dropped in the middle of your kitchen as you were finishing making a few pastries for the bayern girls. 

y/n 

did you really buy me a plane ticket to see you? 

y/n 

you’re insane

y/n 

the flight is in three hours? you’re eager

y/n 

where am i supposed to stay at? 

obi

yes i did

obi

just for you 

obi

you can stay with me. i have a spare room 

you stood outside of the wolfsburg airport with a carry on bag waiting for lena’s car. luckily, there is no training or games scheduled since its thanksgiving break– so you had a day or two to spend with lena. 

after talking for a year, you guys weren't official. its clear that you are in the “talking stage” with the wolfsburg midfielder, but you hoped that she will be your girlfriend soon– even with the distance. 

as you looked down at your phone, watching a tiktok video that popped up on your fyp, you heard a loud car beep their horn. 

ignoring that your heart nearly jumped out of your chest in fear, you looked up to see lena getting out of the drivers side of her car. 

“obi!” you say as you grab your carry on bag. the german smiles brightly as she held her arms out for you. 

when you hugged her taller body, the nerves in your stomach eased away. the warmth of her body and her coconut scent seemed to give you peace in those short seconds. 

“hi liebe! how was your flight?” she whispered in your ear, not breaking the hug just yet. 

her proximity to your ear made you feel something that you’ve never felt before. something you couldn’t say out loud. 

“my flight was smooth, i had a row to myself.” you smile as you looked at lena’s blushed face. 

you weren’t surprised about the small amount of people on the flight, it was an 6pm flight and plane rides from munich to wolfsburg weren’t long at all. 

“that’s perfect. here, give me that.” lena held her hands out. 

you were confused before you noticed that she was pointing at your bag. you gave her your carry on, which she gently put in the trunk of her car as you got into the passenger seat. 

when you guys arrived to her apartment, you were quick to pull your adidas slides off and sit on her couch. lena smiled, happy that you made yourself comfortable in her space. 

“it’s late, so i’m not sure if you want to do much.” lena says. 

pulling your phone out of your pocket, seeing that it just hit 21:00, you agree. 

“we could watch a movie.” you suggested. 

“we can, but can it not be those horror movies you love seeing?” lena asked. 

as much as you guys had in common, movies weren’t one of them. 

lena loved disney animated movies and comedies, you loved horror films along with star wars. 

“you know what we should watch!? we should watch the phantom menace! it's not horror!” you smirked. 

lena rolled her eyes playfully, remembering a phone conversation you guys had in the past. 

“I remember when you said that you wanted me to get you started on the star wars trilogies. it's a win-win for the both of us,” you stood up from the couch and held lena’s hands with your own. the close proximity made lena’s face turn a shade of pink. 

“i get to watch star wars, and you get to watch a disney movie– since star wars is owned by disney.” you came closer, just inches from her nose hitting yours. 

she's taller than you, so she looked down at you slightly with a questioning look. 

“sure.” she says, distracted. 

your boldness seemed to go away the same second that you stopped talking. your breathing slowed as you realized what you’ve done. 

lena’s eyes looked down to your lips as you did the same with her. 

the both of you are alone in her apartment, you realize that no-one would be there to distract you if she kisses you. 

you didn’t mind. 

the german moves her arms around your lower waist as you lean in to kiss her. as you made contact with her lips, your hands moved to the back of her neck. 

the kissing got heated quickly. lena was clearly the dominant one in the situation as she lifted you up and your legs were around her waist, walking you to her bedroom. 

and you know how things went afterwards!

before you left to go back to munich two days later, lena asked you to be her girlfriend.

you said yes, happy but sad to leave her so soon.

after another few months, it's july 2022. 

unfortunately for you, you were out on a three month injury. your hamstring teared while you were on international break with the uswnt– so you were free to return to germany. 

however, you didn’t go to germany. you wanted to support lena and the rest of your bayern girls at the euros in england. 

you’ve seen the prep that your girlfriend lena has put into this competition. due to the distance, you don’t see her everyday– but you guys have perfected the routine of seeing each other when off-days align. 

on the sidelines of the final with germany against england, you wore the green germany kit with some levi 90s jeans. of course, the kit had lena’s last name on the back. 

some people might be offended that you, an american player of their national team, is wearing another countries kit– but you know the majority wouldn’t care, and neither did you. 

lena deserved to be here at this moment you thought. there was no way that you weren’t going to support her beside her family, 

“so, how long are you supposed to be off the pitch?” you looked over to see lena’s father speak to you, his german accent stronger than lena’s. the first half of the final ended and it's nil-nil and it could be anyone’s game. 

you wore a black brace around your leg where the injury occurred, so you figured that he was talking about that. 

“oh, i won’t be playing until the start of next season. so a couple of months– i have a grade 2 tear in my hamstring.” you respond, smiling as lena’s father nodded his head in understanding. 

“you’ll be back out there soon!” lena’s mother spoke with encouragement. you smiled, happy that your girlfriend had sweet parents that treat you as if you were their own. 

after talking to her family for longer, the start of the second half comes along. you’re anxious as both teams are keeping possession with the ball. 

watching other teams in person is making you miss being out on the pitch playing. 

all thoughts aside, your jaw drops as you watch ella toone from england put the ball in at the 62nd minute. 

lena got a yellow card moments before for a tackle on your friend, georgia, who is coming to bayern soon. so, lena was already in a disappointed mood before this moment. 

as the substitutes for germany and england were starting to come on, you started to feel anxious. you hated this feeling for teams that aren’t your own, but this happens everytime you invest a couple of hours into watching others– especially your girlfriend who you want to see with the euro trophy. 

when lina magul scored the equalizer for germany, you put your hands up and clapped as you witnessed the german girls huddle around in a big group hug. 

“come on obi!” you whisper to yourself, hoping that this was a fairytale where lena would score the winner for her country.  

unfortunately for you, germany’s team, and the fans– chloe kelly taps the ball into the net in the 110th minute– giving england the lead in extra time. 

deep down, you knew that was it. you looked ahead at lena with sadness in your eyes. however, you wanted to keep hope. 

after the game, seeing lena accept the young player award with tears in her eyes broke your heart. this is something that you’ve never gone through before from the outside, since usually you are the player that needs the comfort of a non-player after a loss.

after thirty minutes of the award process– with the hard watch of england lifting the trophy you wanted lena to lift– lena pushed herself to walk towards her family and you. 

at first, you thought she was going to go to her parents for a hug. you stepped back as you made sure that her parents were slightly in front of you. 

lena, with dried tears on her face, looked at you and held her hands out. being at the front row before the field, you accepted her embrace– holding her with as much as possible. 

she picks you up and pulls you over the barcade, making sure that your leg would be okay, so you’re standing on the pitch now. 

“i know you might not want to hear this right now– but you did amazing throughout the tournament. i am so proud of you.” you whisper into her ear. 

her strong arms squeeze your waist, a silent thank you that you’ll take it as. she holds you for another minute, knowing that what she needs is your love and reassurance. 

as you lift her head up from your shoulder to look at you, she frowns as she closes her eyes. another tear flows down her cheeks but you’re quick to wipe it away– 

“hey! don’t beat yourself up. you were the best player of the tournament, and i’m not just saying that because i’m your girlfriend.” you reassure. 

you know what lena is thinking– what did i do wrong? was there anything else i could’ve done? did the yellow card send the team into failure? those thoughts were not unfamiliar to you when you lost games, but you’ve never played in a euros final.

“danke.” she smiles slightly. 

part three here

<3

[maxsimagination]

𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗯𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 -𝗲.𝗱𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗺𝗲𝗶𝗱𝗮

summary: psg celebrate their win by going out for the night and elisa isn’t happy with how close sakina is to yn

-> !! fingering, car sex !!

-> let’s pretend psg make it to the finals

𖦹 masterlist

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗧 𝗚𝗔𝗠𝗘.

the final of the division 1 féminine.

paris saint-germain vs lyon.

it was my first final with psg for this season, having just joined the club from liverpool. it was big change, going from the wsl to the french league but so worth it.

both me and fellow australian, clare hunt had joined the team but she'd come from the a-leagues. in the almost year i'd spent at the french club, i'd met all of the players and they were all really welcoming.

the first player that greeted me was elisa, the slightly taller defender bumping into me on my first day.

since then we'd hit it off, become almost best friends and started dating after a couple months. now we were walking onto the field together, to play for the championship.

nerves were rolling through my body; the pre-game jitters never got easier. our captain grace led us out to the pitch where the lyon players were lined up and waiting.

it didn't take long and everyone was ready, in their positions. the whistle blew and i shot forward, we were off.

——

half time came, we were 1-0 down by a shot from ada hegerberg.

after the break everyone was determined to at least equalise. it felt like a lifetime but finally the ball was booted halfway up the field by our goalie and i was on it immediately. weaving through the defenders wasn't easy, i had wendie renard and ellie carpenter to get past before their goalie.

i was smaller, more agile however, and i managed to sneak past them and shoot a clean shot straight into the top left corner of the net.

the crowd went wild and i jumped in the air out of happiness. we were equal now, 1-1.

the second goal came roughly 10 minutes after my first, korbin had made a brilliant pass to lieke, who was bolting towards the box, 2 defenders hot on her heels. i was just on the right wing, close enough to the goal to get a tap in, and that's exactly what i did.

lieke saw me unmarked and slid the ball across and i made a one touch shot into the bottom right corner. the goalie didn't know what was happening by the time the ball was in the net.

the stadium erupted again and leapt in the air again. finally we had a chance, we were almost there.

when that final whistle blew after 5 minutes of injury time, i sunk to my knees. we had done it.

the whole team, subs included, ran onto the pitch in a huddle that ended more like a crushing pile of bodies. i wiggled my way out of it and found elisa.

"we did it mon amour, we won! thanks to you!" she picked me up and pressed a kiss to my forehead. i giggled and wrapped my legas around her body, to hold myself up. the whole stadium was filled with the cheers of the psg fans, but at the same time, the humiliated silence of the lyon fans.

i felt bad for the team, they had played their best but it wasn't enough. but the cheering of my team bought me back and both me and elisa were wrapped up in celebration again.

——

the girls had dragged us all out to a club, celebration they claimed. so i was dressed in a deep blue, shimmery dress that i thought matched our team colours perfectly.

elisa drove us while the other girls made their own way to the chosen club. it was semi-crowded when we got there but we found everyone else at a table and sat down.

sakina announced that the first round was on her and almost ran over to the bar to order.

around 3 rounds later and sakina, me and a couple other were on the dance floor. sakina was easily more drunk than me, hence why she was practically grinding on me. i wasn't too bothered, quite enjoying myself actually. we danced in sync with the music, matching all the other swaying bodies on the floor.

however i knew one person wouldn't be too happy, because i could feel her glare from across the room. elisa wasn't normally that jealous but when she was, i always ended up under her so i couldn't say i didn’t enjoy it.

the song ended and i twirled sakina away from me and she latched onto another teammate to dance with. i made my way over to where elisa was sitting, sliding in next to her.

"bonjour, mon amour." (hello, my love.)

my hand slid onto her thigh instinctively, elisa leaned her head down to mine to catch my lips in a searing kiss. when we pulled apart she had a hungry look in her eyes.

"sakina is too touchy."

i chuckled at how grumpy elisa looked, rubbing her thigh in comfort.

"do you want to get out of here?"

i didn't have to whisper, the club was already loud, but elisa heard me and was all too happy to grab my hand and get up. we bid goodnight to our teammates and headed for the exit.

our car was parked outside and we made a beeline for it. well, elisa did, i was just dragged along. however, she grabbed handle of the backseat not the front seat.

"elisa, what are you doing? we have to drive home?"

she didn't answer, just pulled me in with her. her lips were on mine the second the door clicked shut, hands roaming up and down my sides.

we pulled apart for a brief second then her lips were on my neck. she trailed her way down to my chest where she slipped the straps of my dress down to play with my nipples. a satisfied groan left my lips and i wriggled under her. she took her time now, giving equal amounts of pleasure to both the left and right breast.

"eli..."

"yes, mon amour?" (my love.)

she knew what she was doing to me, a cocky grin plastered on her face when she looked at me.

"hurry up and fuck me!"

i didn't think it could happen but an even cockier grin was now sported on her lips as she hiked my dress up to show my blue, lace panties.

"all dressed up for me, are we?"

a blush covered my cheeks at her words, i did have tiny hope that we would end the night like this but in her car, i never would have guessed.

her fingers were now hooked in the sides on my underwear, and with a glance up to me for consent, she pulled them down. her fingertips grazed my clit, before dipping further down to my soaked hole. she gathered my juices in her finger and brought it up to her mouth, not breaking eye contact once.

my cheeks heated with a blush again and i could feel the tingling feeling travel down to my groin.

"so wet for me, bébé." (baby.)

"elisa, please. just touch me already."

she did as i asked, fingers finding my clit and immediately rubbing small circles around it. i hummed, the pressure on the bundle of nerves was sending little shockwaves through my body and it felt so good.

my hips bucked up into her fingers, desperate for more friction.

"eli, your fingers inside me please."

she pressed a kiss to my lips, which turned into a make out session, while she thrust two fingers into me. elisa set a steady pace, before pushing a third finger in.

i moaned into her mouth at the stretch, urging her to keep going. i could feel the coil in my lower stomach start to tighten.

"elisa, 'm close. don't stop."

she kept going, if anything she sped up, determined to make me cum. elisa rubbed against my clit, adding to the pressure of the already-tight coil.

i mentally thanked whatever god was in our favour for the tinted windows elisa had on her car. i wouldn't be able to live this down if she didn't. inside the car, there wasn't much speaking, only the sounds of her fingers slapping against my wet folds and my moans. i was just on the edge, i could feel myself clenching faster, then suddenly i was there.

"elisa, i'm cumming!"

"cum for me bébé, all over my fingers." (baby,)

i didn't need any further assurance, i let it go and found myself clenching uncontrollably around elisa's fingers as she helped me through my orgasm.

slowly she pulled her fingers out, licking them clean then pressing a kiss to my lips so i could taste myself on her lips.

once i'd come down from my high, she made sure to clean me up as best she could, slipping my underwear back onto my hips and pulling the dress straps up over my bare chest.

"well clean up properly at home, yea?"

[moonystoes]

Long yap session:

I was watching the match with my dad. He had the afcon match on the tv and I was watching it with him too but I also had my laptop on the couch to watch the lyon vs psg match. He made a comment about 'why are you watching a normal league game if there is a final right now'. And then I had to tell him about the whole rivalry between lyon and psg since he only watches the men.

My dad is the weird kind who makes sexist comments but also defends women, I noticed a pattern that when he makes the sexist joke he usually looks at my reaction. I guess he just likes making me angry, when I realized, I just gave him a small response without reacting. And he stopped. He also said 'why would I watch women play, they get tired after 5 minutes' and then went like 👀👀. I think he spent watching the girls play more than the afcon match 😭😭...oh he also said Sakina was beautiful, he started asking for their nationalities and positions. He also complimented Chawinga and when he saw elisa he was like 'thats a guy right there'. I was about to make a joke like 'oh I thought you would never watch women football' but I lowkey didn't want him to stop watching so I just answered his questions normally.

I had to go drink some water so I stopped the match (I was watching it on dazn and you can stop the stream). When I went back, I continued the stream from where I stopped. Dad was like, "why don't you just watch live"

"I can't what if I miss something."

"Come on they're definitely winning, psg was dominating the whole match." (So he was watching 👹)

"No but what if lyon scores I don't want to do this."

Dad presses the 'continue on live' button

Elisa is on the screen, lyon is celebrating a goal.

😦😦😦

I turned to baba like YOUU MF I CANT BELIEVE YOU DID THIS

HE LAUGHED AT ME, HE SAW ME AND LAUGHED.

When they replayed the part he GIGGLED. but he also said 'lyon couldn't score a goal a psg player had to do it'...thank you I guess?? Is that a compliment? An insult? Idk.

When they were playing for added time, everytime elisa had the ball he would say 'look she's gonna score the second goal' ☹️☹️

I was so fucking heartbroken I WANTED TO CRY SEEING ELISA LIKE THAT.

[alexbkrieger13]

Women’s Champions League: where the semi-finals will be won and lost

This weekend brings the first legs of the Women’s Champions League semi-finals and I am particularly intrigued to see how my old club Chelsea approach their tie against Barcelona. This is the third encounter between the clubs in the space of four seasons and it will be interesting to see what Chelsea’s coaching staff have learned from those previous games – the 2021 final and 2023 semi-final, which both ended in defeat.

To draw on my recollections of playing in those matches, in 2021 we went into the final with a high press and the attitude that ‘we’re going to do our thing��. But we all know how that worked out – within 20 minutes we’d conceded three times and by half-time it was 4-0, which is how that final finished.

Last year, as a consequence, we took a more cautious approach. We changed to a back three and tried to minimise their chances on goal and I think we did it quite well though, in the process, we sacrificed our own attacking game to a degree. In our 1-0 first-leg loss at home, we had an xG of only 0.35. Hopefully, this time Chelsea can find the perfect blend and play their own game while also constricting Barcelona.

Of course, it won’t be easy as Barcelona – like the Spain national team – are going like a train right now. In my first column in February, I spoke about playing against Spain with Sweden and the challenge of stopping their play in the half-spaces between the centre-back and full-back, which they are so good at exploiting through Aitana Bonmatí. This time I’d like to single out another player – namely, the Barcelona right winger Caroline Graham Hansen, who is having an incredible season. She scored in both legs against Chelsea last season and has been even better this year with 17 goals and 16 assists in the Liga F. With Barcelona functioning so well as a team centrally, they can get the ball to her in the wide spaces and give her the one v one situations in which she flourishes. Therefore, Chelsea must keep a player tight to her and also to try to stop the supply line of passes out wide.

As for my old team, just like for last season’s semi-final, they look certain to be without Millie Bright, who has only just returned to training after her knee injury. She will be missed, as will Sam Kerr, the leader of the front line. Yet if you’re looking for positives, one potential upside is that it might not be easy for Barcelona to analyse Chelsea. They have used a lot of players this season with different combinations in the back line and midfield and this unpredictability could be an asset. A case in point is Lauren James, who could play as centre-forward, the No 10 or in the wide areas. Lauren has been injury-free this season and has played at a consistently high level and it’s not easy for opponents to set up to stop her as she can float around and perform in different areas.

Another possible positive for Chelsea is that Barcelona are without their injured centre-back Mapi León. She was very good against us last year, both in stopping attacks and building the play. We had a plan to exploit their high line and get Sam in behind her and Irene Paredes, the other centre-back. However, the pair of them read it well and dropped back to deny Sam the space.

When you look at Barcelona’s unbeaten run in their domestic competitions, it contrasts with Chelsea’s recent domestic form with their defeats in the League Cup final and FA Cup semi-final. I’d argue that, playing in England, Chelsea face bigger tests more often yet Barcelona, to their credit, never seem to let their standards drop and whenever a big test comes around, they show up. If I have to make a prediction, therefore, my head tells me Barcelona are the best club side in the world right now and so will edge it. Of course, my heart is hoping for Chelsea and although they’ve have had those recent setbacks, a huge characteristic of their success under Emma Hayes has been their ability to bounce back from disappointments and produce a performance when it matters most.

As for the other, all-French, semi-final between Lyon and Paris Saint-Germain, I would have made Lyon clear favourites a few months ago but not any longer. I actually scored Bayern’s winner at PSG in the group stage in November but I have been impressed by how they have gelled as a team since then. Watching their quarter-final against Häcken, I saw a settled, solid side who have found a way to really capitalise on the speed of winger Tabitha Chawinga.

Before our two games against them with Bayern, we looked at their threat on the left side with both Chawinga and full-back Sakina Karchaoui, who gets over a lot of crosses. What I like about Chawinga is that she’s a forward who, with her individual quality, speed and strength, can make something out of nothing. At Bayern we experienced that in our 2-2 draw with PSG in Munich in December when with her speed, she intercepted a backpass which our goalkeeper had looked the favourite to reach.

She also scored when PSG drew 1-1 in Lyon in their most recent league meeting in February and with Marie-Antoinette Katoto alongside her, it’s clear PSG have a strong attacking threat. At the same time, though, I consider Lyon a more complete team. It’s true they’ve not yet faced a serious test in the competition but they have more than 11 world-class players. And I can speak from recent personal experience as my Sweden team lost 1-0 last week to a France side including several of Lyon’s best players. At centre-back Wendie Renard was really solid against us and underlined her set-piece threat once again by scoring the winning goal. Alongside her, Griedge Mbock now looks back to her best after injury.

Up front, meanwhile, I faced Kadidiatou Diani, who is the Champions League’s leading scorer with seven goals. Seeing her up close, I could sense she was in good shape. When you play an attacker who’s in form, things just seem to happen for them and I recall one incident in particular where, without producing a fantastic dribble, she was still able to get the ball away from several of our players. She is another player who can create something out of nothing and could have a key role, especially with Eugénie Le Sommer missing after suffering a knee injury in that same game against Sweden.

Like Chelsea and Barcelona, Lyon are unbeaten in this Champions League campaign, they tend to get the better of PSG in their domestic competition and I expect they’ll do so again over these two legs. That said, I really do think any of these four semi-finalists have the quality to go on and win the trophy. Whereas the quarter-final ties each had a clear favourite, this time anything could happen. I hope as many people as possible tune in as we could be in for a treat with two dramatic ties full of twists and turns.

[chelseafcwmemes]

https://avisendanmark.dk/sport/lysten-til-et-nyt-eventyr-og-tysk-disciplin-lokkede-harder-til-bayern

I assume most of you won’t have access. So while I can still use this magic trick, here’s the translated version

The desire for a new adventure and German discipline lured Harder to Bayern

Pernille Harder is leaving Chelsea this summer to return to German football. This time for Bayern Munich, where she hopes to complete the trophy list. Pernille Harder is one of the world's very best soccer players, and there isn't a major European club that wouldn't want to have her on the team card. Her presence alone seems to guarantee championships. She has won the national championship eight years in a row in three different countries. In mid-May, she announced that it was time for a new adventure after three years at Chelsea.

- I think it's exciting to enter new cultures and new clubs and to be in the phase where you join a new team and have to get to know a lot of new people and become part of a new culture, says Harder about the decision.

Several sports managers in the world's top clubs have undoubtedly stuck out a feeler. But what new adventure did Harder want after spending time in Sweden, Germany and England? Try the southern sun and crowded stands in Spain or Italy? The big teams PSG or Lyon in France? Or maybe the US? None of the parts. Together with his Swedish teammate and girlfriend Magdalena Eriksson, Harder signed a contract with the newly crowned German champions from Bayern Munich.

- I feel comfortable in Germany. Everyone works hard for the team, and you arrive on time. There is that "ordnung muss sein" approach and you are like a family on the team. It's cool, I think, says the Danish star striker.

Bayern Munich does not have a great history in the women's Champions League, but in recent years the team has played its way up to the top of Europe. The quarter-finals were the final stop in the last Champions Leauge season, but for the second time in three years they brought home the German championship in front of Pernille Harder's former club Wolfsburg. Bayern are currently fifth in the European rankings, and ambitions are high in the German club. Otherwise, the urge for German discipline would not have been enough to lure Harder back to the Danish neighbor to the south.

- There is no doubt that I want to play in the Champions League. I want to be in the tournament, and when I am in the tournament, I will do everything to win it, says Harder.

Three times she has been in the final, twice with Wolfsburg and once with Chelsea, but each time she has had to watch the opponents lift the trophy under the rain of confetti. Although Bayern beat eventual winners FC Barcelona last season, there are a small handful of teams who are still considered heavy favorites to triumph in the tournament. But that may very well change in the coming years, believes 30-year-old Harder, who has signed a contract with the southern Germans for the next three seasons.

- The club's goal is to win the league and the cup tournament and also get up to where you can win the Champions League. That is the goal for the future, says Harder.

These days she is gathered with the rest of the national team in Herning ahead of the WC finals in Australia and New Zealand, which begin on 20 July. On July 5, Denmark plays a test match against Spain in Gladsaxe, while the first match for Harder and co. at the WC will be July 22 against China. Then England and Haiti await in the group.

[redwineconversation]

well me and my ghosts, we had a hell of a time (Lyon roster thoughts)

Blah blah standard disclaimers apply etc etc. No funny comments in the disclaimers because I am rushing through this.

Putting it under a read more because I monologue a ton even by my standards.

After having completed the signing of Sofia Huerta, Lyon announced they were finished in the transfer window. The press release stated in part "Olympique Lyonnais is happy to be able to rely on an experienced group [of players] but also wishes to show confidence in its young players, especially in central defense. The club will nonetheless be attentive to different opportunities which could present themselves in the upcoming winter transfer window."

Boy is there a lot to unpack in that quote.

First of all, I know I am going to be accused of gloomsplaining, but I think we need to be really realistic about Lyon's trophy chances this season and by that I mean: there most likely won't be any. Now if I'm wrong, great, but let's work through this problem together and see why I am probably right.

Now I know, I know, I bitch an enormous amount about academy players being given playing time. I don't care. I'm still right. You cannot be both a competitive club vying for a UWCL trophy and be focused on the development of young players at the same time. If you are being competitive, it's because you are fielding your strongest players with the aim of beating your opponent. If you are focused on the development of young players, then your goal is give them playing time, not necessarily the result. A club cannot be both at the same time.

I find it especially concerning that Lyon's press release outright states where the focus of the academy players development is going to be: central defense. Lyon's current central defenders consist of Wendie Renard, 34; Vanessa Gilles, 28; Kysha Sylla, 20; Wassa Sangare, 18; Alice Sombath, 20.

There is a massive gulf in terms of level and experience when you compare the level of experience (and talent) of Gilles/Renard to Sylla/Sombath/Sangare. Now, I would be more lenient if any of the latter three were starters on their (pro) national team and it was just a question of trying to get playing time at Lyon, but that's not the case. Let's play my favorite game of worse case scenario: 34-year-old injury prone Renard gets injured and is out for several months and Gilles gets a controversial straight red and has to sit out several games until she returns from suspension. You're left with extremely inexperienced defenders. Now, if this worse case scenario happens right at the beginning of the season that's one thing, but it's a completely different story once UWCL play starts and when Lyon starts playing against heavy hitters.

We've seen what happens when Lyon fields inexperienced players in defense: Lyon had arguably its worse start of the season and also suffered its biggest defeat in UWCL history. It was the accumulation of an injury crisis and putting players in the line-up who had absolutely no business being there. We know that having an inexperienced back line is so incredibly costly.

We don't know yet what the UWCL group stages are going to look like but it is going to take a stroke of incredibly good luck for Lyon to have as favorable a group as they did last season. It played out that way because Paris FC went scalp hunting and was successful and PSG realized that playing in the UWCL was in their best interest. While I wouldn't necessarily write either Paris FC or PSG off from the group stages immediately, it still must be said that an extremely favorable draw is solely dependent on other big team choking.

Imagine if Lyon finds itself in a group of death similar last season's Group of Death (PSG, Ajax, Roma, Bayern). And imagine the injury crisis has hit and Lyon is without Renard and Gilles. Can anyone really say with a straight face that any team with even moderately decent fire power is going to look at a combination of Sangare/Sylla/Sombath and be like "whew, we better be super clinical because we're not going to get a lot of looks at goal"? No. Any half-decent forward is going to be strolling down the center with nay a care in the world.

"You're being so pessimistic!" No. I am talking from experience. Again, we saw this very thing play out in the 2022-2023 season when Lyon was decimated by injuries and we had to play a bunch of academy kids. I am so perplexed at the eternal revisionist history. We've been here before. We already know what the consequences are. We know what the ending is.

I also find it so infuriating when I read comments like "we need to give academy players a chance" or "if we don't give them any playing time then what's the point?" It's such a bad faith, irresponsible comment. You don't win the UWCL by giving academy players a chance. You don't win trophies by giving academy players playing time so their feelings don't get hurt. That is not how competitive teams work.

Mbock was (is) a world class defender. She is very, very good. When healthy, she is amongst the best center backs in the world. She makes any defensive line better. Having lost a world class center back, Lyon's board, instead of recruiting another experienced center back, decided to put their faith in players who, last season: played in zero (0) UWCL games (Kysha Sylla and Wassa Sangare respectively); played in four (4) UWCL group stage games, starting one (1) (Alice Sombath).

I'm sorry, but that is professional malpractice. You can't go from a world class center back like Mbock to academy players like Sangara/Sylla/Sombath and expect there to be no consequences. They could each play 90 minutes the entire season and it will still not make up the gulf of inexperience between themselves and Mbock. It's not a drop off, it's a cliff diving with no sense of self-preservation.

So that's my biggest issue with the roster. Let's talk about the rest.

I'm in favor of the Sofia Huerta signing but with a caveat: I'm much more interested in her playing RB than I am her popping up anywhere else on the field (Le Progres floated her playing LB so we'll see what happens there). I think Carpenter needs both competition and rotation and Huerta provides both. Realistically, Carpenter has never had proper competition for the RB position so I think it will be good for her to be pushed on a regular basis. I don't think it will necessarily fix the crossing issue, but I think it will force her to go up a gear. It also means she - theoretically - won't be run into the ground as much. She did rack up an insane amount of minutes last season because the only other option at RB was Sombath, who is a CB by trade. So, competition is good, rotation is good. If Huerta is there as a RB, great. 100 percent in favor of the signing and I think it will help Lyon in the long-run.

It's a different topic if Huerta pops up at LB. Or, is it? Let's chat about that, too. Huerta isn't naturally left-footed so that's my immediate bone to pick if she starts playing in that position. It's not her natural position nor her preferred foot and that could mean running into problems later on. And yet - and yet I would almost take Huerta at LB over Svava, which doesn't really reflect well on Svava at all.

Here's my bone to pick with Svava: I'm willing to overlook the club hopping (what is love if not fleeting?), it's the lack of regular playing time which bothers me, especially playing time in big games. (See, it's not just academy kids I am picking on about this!) How does Svava cope with high pressure games? Idk, your guess is as good as mine. She was on the bench at Real Madrid, then says in an interview she's more of a winger, which left a lot of people confused about the LB position considering Bacha is out for several months and Morroni left for a dumpster fire and a tan.

So, do I want Huerta as LB? Not really but I will take it.

Having ripped on the defense, let's talk about the midfield. It's a professional foul to not find cover for Damaris. We run an already injury-prone player into the ground because we don't have another natural DM to provide cover. It's absolutely insane to me that a DM was not high on the priority list. People will gesture wildly at Marozsan (old and slow), Horan (slow) and Dabritz (slow) and say they can provide cover as DM, but they are missing the rather vital point which is none of those players are a natural DM. If Maro is playing as a 6, then she isn't playing / isn't the backup as a 10. If Horan or Dabritz are playing as a 6, then it means they're not playing as an 8.

Now I will concede that good DMs are extremely hard to come by and the clubs that have them aren't prepared to let them go but I absolutely refuse to believe there is not a single halfway decent DM that Lyon couldn't pick up on the market. I'm not asking for Damaris 2.0 / Henry 2.0, I'm just asking for a DM who, well, can play as a DM. It really doesn't seem like that unreasonable of an ask.

The 10 position is something else which really concerns me. Right now Lyon basically has three players who can play the 10: Marozsan, who once again is old and slow; van de Donk, who has openly said that her retirement is coming sooner rather than later; and Mendy, an academy kid. In the days when Lyon would win they would live and die by their midfield so I am not particularly interested in the keys being handed to an academy kid who, once again, lacks experience.

The Benyahia defenders perplex me as well because they seem to think Le Havre is the equivalent of Lyon. Give it a few years at this rate and they very well could be interchangeable, but it's not the case right now. Did she have a good season at Le Havre? Yes. Does that automatically mean she will have a good season at Lyon? Well, I guess it depends on how you define good: I want to win, so my requirement is whether a player will make us win; others seem to equate good with players getting sufficient playing time. No. This isn't the school playground, everyone shouldn't get a shot at the merry-go-round to keep everyone happy. In the good old days, you got playing time because you earned it. It wasn't given to you.

I don't think Horan played particularly well in the second half of the season but I think fatigue played a part in it. I have low expectations for the start of the season since she is coming off the Olympics, but we'll see how she does as the season progresses. Unless she too loses her spot to an academy player.

Dabritz's stellar second half of the season was cut short by an injury which is frustrating as she was really on fire. We'll see how she does as she gets back to fitness. I don't expect her to pick up right where she left off because coming back from injury takes time. So she is more of a TBD than anything else.

Which finally brings us to the front line. It looks good in paper but when you did into it, there are actually a fair amount of issues.

Chawinga was a great signing and I am thrilled we got her. She isn't the most technical player but get the ball to her and she can put in the back of the net and that actually meets my standards. I don't need flashy, I need efficient. As long as the forward is scoring goals, we're good.

Hegerberg remains on the payroll and in rehab. She's touching the ball again (good) but still hasn't returned to group play. Once she returns to group play there's still another two weeks of that before she could be game day ready so I think we're probably 6 weeks away from seeing her and that's the most optimistic scenario. Disclaimer: this is based on Lyon's previous timelines and I don't know what Montemurro will do in terms of bringing players back. So my prediction could be way off. When Hegerberg is good, she is the type of player who will grab Lyon by the scruff of the neck and haul them over the finish line kicking and screaming. The trouble is the days of Hegerberg being good are starting to become less and less frequent.

Diani needs to do better. I was willing to give her more of a pass last season because she had to adjust to a new team. She was still top scorer in the UWCL last season, so she was able to put the ball in the back of the net (minimum requirement). She just needs to produce more this season. Grace period is over, let's see what you can actually do.

Dumornay's grace period has also expired. I need her to curb the showboating and do her job. I also want to see how the UWCL loss affected her. I need to see rage, I need to see her up her game and have a score to settle. Nice doesn't win you trophies. Get a blowtorch and see if you're actually an arsonist.

My opinion on Becho/Marozsan/Majri still stands. I don't care what they've done before, they need to go. Two of them are also taking up considerable amount on the payroll, the other isn't expensive but isn't productive either. Well, I take that back. If we're rebranding the club as an academy development team then I guess she is productive. If we're a UWCL competitive team, she's not.

Montemurro is too soon to judge because the team hasn't really done anything either. Let's see how he manages the team when league plays actually starts and we can judge if he really does want Lyon to win everything or if he is happy to collect a paycheck while a bunch of academy kids watch opposing players stroll past them.

Finally, because it seems like it's unfair to rip into the team and not go after Ponsot and Kang: I'm sorry, but there is genuine cause for concern here. The recruitment this summer was absolutely horrific. We only got three signings, one of which is questionable, one is a loan, one is good. We don't quite know yet where Huerta is going to be playing and as she cannot be cloned it does not solve the outside back issue, there was no recruitment for the CB or DM positions, we probably won't have a decent 10 next season. And that's just the immediate issues.

The stadium issue is also really significant. Ponsot and Kang spent the whole summer (and an entire press conference!) saying that the team deserved better than to play at the training center (true), they wanted a stadium which reflected the worth of the team (good). I agree with them on that! But then Kang turned around and said it's actually for the 2025-2026 season. Then Lyon, who was originally scheduled to play the Strasbourg game at Groupama, is now playing it at ... the training center.

Now granted the Strasbourg game was moved because of the men's team and, fingers crossed, John Textor's team will go back to losing sooner rather than later. But this was something that could and should have been foreseen.

Kang and Ponsot spent a huge amount of time complaining that Lyon was getting all the Sunday at 9pm slots and that was affecting attendance. And they have a point. Lyon fans unlike some club supporters have real jobs, have families, and it does make the Sunday 9pm games complicated to attend when you have work/class the next day. Their jobs/work matters to them and they're just not necessarily going to attend late night Sunday games. Anyway, after making all that fuss, the league agreed to have Lyon play on a majority of Fridays or Saturdays, and, you guessed it, that coincides with the men's league games. This was foreseeable.

I don't think the relocation idea is a good one. Yes, not all of Lyon's fans are local, but if you want to build a fan base, you need fans not only to show up but to know where to show up. Playing a bunch of games outside of Lyon isn't going to encourage fans in Lyon to attend home games. The support baseline isn't strong enough to ask them to drive an hour or so outside the city to attend games when the fans could just stay home and do their own thing.

I love Lyon, I do. I'm also not going to drive an hour to see them in Bourg or Grenoble. It also sends a weird message to fans that this team doesn't really have something to call home because ... the owners want to parade this team out to cities where I think the reverse also holds true: if I am living in Bourg or Grenoble, I'm not super sure what the incentive is to drive all the way to Groupama when I could just stay home and watch the game on TV or more likely a dodgy illegal stream. You're not building a loyal fanbase by constantly moving the team around.

So there are many, many issues which will cause problems this season. I think we need to be really realistic: we're probably not going to win anything this season. And the recruitment is a large reason for that.

[magdasabs]

We beat psg x2, madrid, we knocked out lyon, and we only lost by 1 goal To barca.

That is impressive, lets focus On that 💙

undoubtedly the toughest uwcl run out of any team and we exit with our heads held high

[lucawrites11]

Exactly! I'd gone from believing there would be at least one goal from Lyon to losing faith in them for a little while, then to just pure shock at how well they were clicking and then those goals

honestly for me majri completely changed the game - they clicked so well. like looking from the stats from that game. i am so impressed with the psg gk. lyon had 22 shots with 8 on target and only scored three and psg had just 3 on target shots and scored too. towards the end lyon just became lyon as we know them, so clinical and with so much energy and passion. the goal to take it to 2-1 completely change the game and the crowd getting behind them too at the same time. i think it gave everyone belief

[22plus15]

the weirdest thing to me about the match yesterday was Jona's choices for substitutions and the timing. It definitely seemed like a lack of plan b. The subs were the same that he might make if the team was winning comfortably. Why wait to bring Marta on for Lucy with just a few minutes to go in that situation? No disrespect to Marta but that's not a gamechanging sub.

I wonder if the uwcl is about to get very interesting this year. Lyon aren't in vintage form either.

yep i agree — i was very shocked when i saw lucy’s number go up (right before a set piece too?) bc while i understand marta has a great scoring record, lucy is proven to be fantastic under pressure and has scored two last minute goals for barça and england in dec-jan. i don’t know if he thought she looked tired or what. ari arias i understand more but i feel like she had no time to get into the game bc it was so late

i haven’t been watching lyon mostly out of fear but idk i was looking at their scores in the french league and the group stage the other day and there’s def some interesting results. like struggling against psg lol? i’m really excited to see them play benfica. is renard still out with her injury? i remember hearing about that shortly after mapi but like i said i haven’t been keeping up

[maxsimagination]

𝗵𝘂𝗴𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗸𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀 - 𝘀.𝗸𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗶

summary: even after a year of dating, playing against your girlfriend doesn’t get any easier

𖦹 masterlist

𝗜𝗧 𝗪𝗔𝗦 𝗔 𝗡𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗬 day to say the least.

one of my least favourite days during the season. i had to go up against sakina.

it was psg vs lyon, and both me and sakina were in the starting eleven for our respective teams.

we started dating last year. both of us got called up for national team duties, to represent france in the world cup. that was when we first properly met and, thanks to elisa, started dating.

elisa and i met when i was on loan to montpellier in the 2020/21 season. since then we'd kept in touch often.

now in the 2023/24 season, sakina and i had been together for a whole year and two days. we had celebrated our anniversary with a recreation of our first date, same restaurant and everything.

but during the season, there was a few times where we came up against each other. whether it be for the champions league or the french division, it had to happen.

i always got nervous about these games because the little voice in my head would tell me that something might change between us after we played. nothing had ever changed in the year we'd been dating and come up against each other it that didn't stop me from over thinking.

——

on the pitch, i could see both sakina and elisa ready and waiting in the psg defence for the whistle to blow.

when it did, i was the first to shoot forward with the ball. being a striker didn't help when your girlfriend was a defender. there was bound to be some tackles involved.

and eventually it did.

in the 70th minute, both me and sakina had stayed on, as expected.

i was running down the middle of the field, having intercepted a pass from two of the psg strikers. i ducked and weaved through the defenders and i was almost at the edge of the box when i noticed sakina out of the corner of my eye.

just as i took the shot at the goal, sakina came sliding in and took my ankles out.

i landed on the ground with a thud and all the air left my lungs. i didn't move for a while, just trying to get my breath back, but then the medics came rushing in.

i didn't think i needed them but let them do their thing anyway.

i could see sakina standing nearby, trying to see if i was okay. i was but i was a bit mad with her. she didn't have to take my ankles with her in her attempt to clear the ball.

when the medics cleared out and i stood up, sakina came up to me.

"what the hell was that for?"

i spoke first. i knew that it was a game and she had to defend but that tackle really took the life out of me for a bit there.

"i'm sorry, i didn't mean to take you out too."

"whatever. let's just play the game."

i walked away and returned to my position. the game went on and lyon ended up winning 3-0 including the shot that i got in before sakina tackled me.

after we won, most of the girls did a couple laps to greet the fans. i made a couple laps before heading back to the lockers. freshly showered and dressed in the clothes i arrived in, i walked back into the communal hallways.

however, just as i was walking out, sakina walked in and she whisked me into an adjacent room.

that room happened to be a physio room, thank goodness no one was in there.

"yn, i am so sorry about the tackle. i truly did not mean to take you down like that. if i could go back and change anything, i probably wouldn't make that tackle at all."

that last bit stunned me.

"you'd let me take the goal?"

"yes."

"really?"

"yes, yn. i'd rather loose a game of football than have you injured. please forgive me."

i didn't see how i could still be mad at her after that so of course i forgave her. i nodded at sakina and was  about to verbalise my feelings when she kissed me.

her lips were soft as always and she easily slipped her tongue into my mouth.

i tried to keep it pg, so pulled away after a bit with a grin.

"let's wait until we're home to start something like this, yea amour?" (love.)

[moonystoes]

https://x.com/psgfeminews/status/1848689303544603128?s=46 nooooooo💔💔

THE MATCH AGAINST LYON???? NOOOOO WHAT THE HELL *MEMORIES OF THE HANDBALL AND THE OWN GOAL AGAINST LYON* WHAT WOULD PSG/LYON DRAMA BE WITHOUT ELISA'S CHOATIC MESS???

[alexbkrieger13]

Lyon winning by a chawinga goal proves that the league isn't competitive

Seriously how the fuck PSG sells their best player who was newly signed to their fucking biggest rival??

Yea at least in the Spanish League you wouldn't be having that. I swear I feel like as more time goes on the French League somehow get less competitive if that was even possible

[thommi-tomate]

What is your top 10 most memorable Bayern’s matches? (by that I mean matches that immediately comes to your mind to you when you think about Bayern, matches of which you know the score and the story by heart because they marked you) And then tag ten other Bayern's fans : )

Thanks for tagging me Lise dear @acrazybayernfan 🫶🏽

Several I didn't see at the time but in repeats but even as repeats they made me feel a lot.

They don't go in a specific order but I put them from most recent to oldest

1. Bayern vs Köln 27/5/2023: it is very recent but I think it is really a moment that will live forever in the collective consciousness, most if not all of us really thought that the league was lost, after 10 years and seeing that goal of Bambi, waiting for the result in Dortmund, the explosion of happiness of everyone, I really cried a lot, I did not believe it, I really think it was one of the most magical matches of the club.

2. Bayern vs PSG 7/4/2021: the end of the Flick era, one of the most beautiful ones but that the fall was a resounding one for many different factors, a game that could have been more and the result was frustrating especially for losing against a team like that and against someone as annoying as N*ymar, I also think it was a turning point for the club.

3. Bayern vs Barcelona 14/8/2020 : it's a bit funny how often that match is remembered more than the final itself, but it is an iconic result, not only for the club but for the history of football in general, the goals kept coming and one could only wonder is that they are going to end? A match that made us puff out our chests with pride showing the overwhelming power of the team, simply incredible.

4. Bayern vs Hoffenheim 29/2/2020 : a match that despite winning 6-0 I think what was really memorable was the performance of the players, coach and management asking for respect to the fans and the solidarity protest with the Hoffenheim players in the last 15 minutes, the fact that the whole team scolds the fans is not something that happens often and is really something that surprises.

5. Bayern vs Wolfsburg 22/9/15: of this one is simply iconic and historical those 5 goals in 9 minutes by Lewy, there is nothing more to say a football milestone

6. Bayern vs Dortmund 25/5/2013 : the most incredible, spectacular and iconic champions final of the last 10 years and I don't care if someone says it's not, because they lie, after the animic blow that 2012 was for the team that final will always be the holy grail, I love the 2019/20 season but is that 2012/13 is something different, that match, even from the previous show was something spectacular, exalting all the senses, simply a marvel.

7. Bayern vs Chelsea 19/5/2012 : the game that was the breaking point of the team, with nothing in their hands, reaching that final at home and losing it in an incredible way despite that incredible goal by Thomas, but despite being very painful it was an important point for the club and what it is now, that generation was golden and turned the pain into energy to create a revolution of the club, create a fearsome and overwhelming giant. Whenever I think about that before being what the club is now some tears come to my eyes from seeing what a team was creating little by little , stone by stone.

8. Bayern vs Inter Milan 5/22/2010: the final of the UCL, despite being completely defeated, I think it was an incredible game more than anything else for what it represented, the team came with the illusion of winning a treble, and although they did not win the Champions League I think from that game you could see the foundations of what would become the era of modern Bayern.

9. Bayern vs Lyon 27/4/2010 : UCL semifinal , Ivica makes a hattrick, is a match that I would pay to have seen it live, it was a magical match, that hattrick of Ivica was vibrant, I was very excited and that was a replay, Ivica I think he is not remembered as much as other players but personally I love watching replays of his games, he was an incredible striker.

10. Bayern vs Dortmund 12/9/2009 : this one has more of an emotional value from Thommi because it was his first Klassiker where he scored his first goal in Bundesliga and also his first brace and at the home of the bees, I am very excited to see that game no matter how many times I watch it because I always find it amazing how talented Thomas has always been.

Tagging: @ryumuller @thomas-mvller @probayern @gxtzeizm @liverpool-enjoyer @miasanmuller @miroslavcloset

[redwineconversation]

Vanessa Gilles Le Progrès Article (May 14, 2024)

Lyon's favorite chaotic wine aunt muses on the upcoming games and, for once, doesn't out details about a player's private life. Some would call that progress.

Blah blah standard disclaimers apply; @OL Comms Dept pls chip in for Starbucks or my AC bill I am begging you; maybe if some of you put in as much focus into getting a job as you do stalking players you might be able to break said parasocial relationship; banning stans from stadiums would solve a lot of problems real quick; y'all know the speech by now.

VANESSA GILLES LE PROGRES ARTICLE

Vanessa Gilles before Olympique Lyonnais Féminin - PSG: "Give everything we have and recover"

It's no longer games but finals that Lyon is playing one after the other. For Vanessa Gilles, it would be a mistake to focus on the UWCL Final on May 25 before playing the play-off league final on Friday.

Getting past [Stade de] Reims in such a manner was important, even a relief with these playoffs which put everything back in play?

It's good to score lots of goals and especially, as a defender, to not concede any. It gives us a lot of confidence going forward, be it against Paris [Saint-Germain] and later. But it wasn't just a relief. We are conscious of everything we have done this season in terms of performance and regularity. And if we managed to recreate that, we knew we had the best chances against Reims, and now we are capable of winning against PSG.

The risk of another mishap such as the loss against Fleury in the Coupe de France doesn't linger in your heads?

We talk a lot about that game against Fleury but we didn't have an easy season with time zones and scheduling. That game was a Friday night, Lindsey and I had just come back from the Gold Cup and a long trip, we had injured players. It's difficult when you can't put up the team that you want. It wasn't catastrophic [debatable...] but we knew how to learn from that experience for the future because you know that that kind of game, with a draw and the lottery of penalties, can happen. We don't want that scenario against PSG.

It will be the sixth match-up of the season against PSG. Aren't you fed up?

It's a bit hard playing them again and again, but you have to deal with it. It's like if I compared the game to a derby. Other than having won the Trophee [des Championnes], which was really motivating, it's always a question of pride against PSG, with a desire to give everything for the club, the fans, the staff.

Since you know each other by heart, is it complicated to surprise each other?

Obviously, we know each other really well tactically. But the beauty of football is there can be surprises and we can always expect something different. It's never the same game against Paris [Saint-Germain]. With these playoffs, everything starts from scratch. We have to tell ourselves that it's the first time of the season that we are playing them.

Paris [Saint-Germain] doesn't have anything left to play whereas they're in the final of the UWCL for Lyon. Does that context change anything?

It would be a mistake for us to focus on the Champions League. Before [Stade de] Reims, the idea was to take one game at a time without thinking of the next one. Reims helped prepare us for Paris. Paris can now help us prepare for Barcelona.

In the 5 match-ups this season, there are 4 wins for Lyon and a draw. Does that matter?

It gives us a sort of psychological advantage. Even more so because we are playing at home at Groupama [Stadium], with I hope an identical amount of fans who have us the energy to overturn the situation in the UWCL semi-final [note: not going to happen, last numbers had attendance circa 13,000. More on that later]. The energy they gave us was enormous and that also plays a part on the mental aspect because you have almost 40,000 people who are pushing you until the last minute.

Was that game a turning point in the season?

I don't think so. We have shown solidarity throughout the whole season, like at Brann, in Norway, where we played 10 against 11 on artificial turf with particular weather conditions. We were also behind in the league against Reims, Fleury or PSG. Lyon's strengths are solidarity and mentality. We are really a team who love each other, who like being together. Despite such a long and difficult season, there is never any drama, no fighting. [emphasis added] No matter who is on the field, there is always that continuity and same mentality. That's why this club wins trophy after trophy. Because you can't think it is going to be easy. But to have now lived it, the mentality and team spirit really make a difference, even if of course there is a lot of quality with the players.

In hindsight, how did Lyon not fall apart in that semifinal against Paris [Saint-Germain]?

The substitutes, like Amel Majri and Danielle van de Donk, helped the team and brought energy which did a lot of good. That game proved once more that we aren't an 11-player team and that everyone is involved. And the support from the public, like I said. Lyon is a team that never gives up and fights until the end. Even in the league, when we're winning 5-0, we always want more and want to score more.

Paris [Saint-Germain] struggled in the semifinals of the playoffs whereas Lyon was almost flamboyant. Does that reflect the Lyon dynamic?

When you play a competition, and the playoffs are one, it's always difficult to draw conclusions from the previous game. From the moment the game starts it's 0-0. You have to approach it with a lot of concentration and be in competition mode, which means 90 minutes without extra time, and therefore without the hope of being able to make up in case there is there is a draw at the end of regular time. Anything can happen in that type of formula.

Tabitha Chawinga has caused you a lot of problems. Do you have to stop her to stop Paris [Saint-Germain]?

She has done a fantastic season and her stats prove that. She has been consistent and impressive for her first season in France. Now, there isn't just Chawinga. PSG has a lot of talent with Baltimore, Geyoro, Katoto, Karchaoui... But we have players who can cause problems as well and there is no doubt it will be a very close game. We will need to concentrate on what we did well, especially the return game against PSG.

Is she the forward who has personally caused you the most difficulty?

It's difficult to go that far because I have played with a lot of teams and the context isn't always the same. With Lyon, we play with a pretty high block, so there is a lot of space behind and that's Chawinga's strength. When she can accelerate ... she accelerates! But I've always played against Ada Hegerberg, Kadidiatou Diani, Sam Kerr, or even Sophia Smith with the National Team, and those aren't walks in the park either! As a defender, those are the duels you want to be up against and which motivate you. Those are the types of games where you can measure yourself against. It brings different types of emotions to play against the best, with different styles. Because Katoto is also amongst the best players in the world and her too, we will need to stop.

Would you have preferred to quietly prepare for Barcelona rather than play another final 8 days beforehand?

That's a good question but since I have never experienced a UWCL final, it's difficult to answer. Now, those have experienced UWCL finals haven't experienced playoffs either... Ill said it again: it would be a mistake to focus on May 25. This final against Paris {Saint-Germain], we have to give it our all, leave it all out there, and then recover and focus on a different final. For the moment, we aren't even thinking about Barcelona.

At Lyon, like a fish takes to the water Having arrived in September 2022 with a 9-month contract following the injury to Griedge MBock, Vanessa Gilles is now linked to Lyon through June 2025 after having extended twice: "I've always said it. Lyon is a club where you are integrated easily and where you feel at home. The former president, the directors, the players, the staff members who have come in have built a culture that I haven't experienced anywhere else: we feel respected, valued, which gives you an enormous amount of confidence. Everyone feels very involved, even when you are on the bench. That explains why the players who come rarely want to leave."