Courageous Parisiennes fall in the championship final

For the last game of the season, Les Rouge et Bleu lined up in a 3-5-2 formation with Dudek (captain), De Almeida and Mbock in front of Mary Earps. Karchaoui and Dunn were on the wings, with Groenen, Geyoro and Kanjinga in midfield supporting a front two consisting of Leuchter and Albert. Paulo César was clearly in an attacking mood as he concocted his starting XI.

But it was Lyon who opened the hostilities, with Diani taking the first shot of the match, which was saved by Earps from a tight angle (4‘). The Parisian response came from Karchaoui, who switched wings before receiving a deflected cross from Dunn. The French international volleyed the ball but missed the target, raising the temperature at the Parc OL (18’).

Then it was Kanjinga's turn to send a shiver through the Lyon crowd, with a powerful shot that hit the side netting at the end of a well-worked counter-attack (31'). The Parisians shook their opponents and almost broke them at the end of the half, with another attempt from Karchaoui (44') before Dudek headed just wide from a corner (45'). But Lyon soaked up the pressure and, once again, demonstrated their knack for striking at the worst possible moments.

Durmonay was sent deep and won her duel with Earps, ending the first half on a cruel note for the Parisiennes, who found themselves behind despite a very solid performance up to that point (1-0, 45'+2).

On the return from the dressing rooms, the tension was palpable, with all 22 players fighting for every ball. This made for some choppy play, and referee Colin intervened several times, but generally allowed this final to be a fairly physical affair. Both teams were well organised and left little space, and there were few chances to speak of. Mbock took the opportunity to make the defensive play of the match, producing a perfect tackle on Dumornay as she raced towards the Parisian goal (67').

But Les Rouge et Bleu would crack a second time, ten minutes from the final whistle. Diani fired off an angled shot that took a slight deflection, beating Mary Earps and putting Lyon further ahead (2-0, 80'). In the dying moments, they even added insult to injury with a penalty converted by Renard (3-0, 90'+4).

Thus our Parisiennes had to concede defeat and watch Lyon win their fourth consecutive league title. Now it's time to turn our attention to the Women's Euros this summer, before Les Rouge et Bleu return for another season - with new ambitions, new challenges to overcome and the same passion as ever!