Paris fall to defeat in the dying moments against Olympique Lyonnais

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Paris Saint-Germain's Women's team were beaten (0-1) by their Olympique Lyonnais counterparts on Sunday 21 May at the Parc des Princes on Matchday 21 of D1 Arkema.

One week after their defeat in the final of the Women's Coupe de France, Les Parisiennes were back in league action with the visit of...Olympique Lyonnais, for the clash at the top of D1 Arkema on this occasion. Les Rouge et Bleu wanted to get back to winning ways and why not overtake Les Lyonnaises, who were sitting top of the table. For the encounter, Gérard Prêcheur started with a central pairing of captain Grace Geyoro and Elisa De Almeida, while the duo of Oriane Jean-François and Kheira Hamraoui took charge of midfield. Up-front, Ramona Bachmann played alongside Lieke Martens while Jackie Groenen and Sandy Baltimore took their places on the wings.

But Les Parisiennes were almost caught out early on by an enterprising OL side. After just three minutes, Ada Hegerberg won the ball back in the middle of the pitch and tried her luck with a lob from 40 metres out: our goalkeeper was beaten but the Norwegian saw her effort miss the target. A few moments later, Sarah Bouhaddi was back in action up against the Lyon forward. This time, the Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper came out on top before seeing Delphine Cascarino's effort miss the target. 

As the half-hour mark approached, Selma Bacha got through alone on the Parisian goal. But Sakina Karchaoui miraculously got back and tackled the ball from the feet of the Lyon full-back.  After that, the club from the capital began to press their opponents more and to set themselves up higher up the pitch. However, both sides headed into the dressing room at the break on level terms.

After the half-time, it was Paris who looked the more incisive, with De Almeida's corner deflecting into Christiane Endler's side netting. As Les Rouge et Bleu began to impose themselves more and more in Lyon's half, Sonia Bompastor's players kept their eyes open for the slightest opportunity. Vanessa Gilles connected well with a good cross from Bacha on the penalty spot. Fortunately for the home side, Bouhaddi made a decisive save to keep her side in the encounter!

The minutes ticked by at the Parc des Princes, and newcomer Korbin Albert came close to capping off a superb team move for the club from the capital. Gérard Prêcheur's side threw their last efforts into the battle, with several intelligent moves, but without managing to really trouble the visitors. It was then OL who took the lead thanks to a cross from Amel Majri that was headed home by Signe Bruun (0-1, 88'). The goal was anecdotal, as the Red and Blue tried to force fate to take the three points during the last minutes of the match. Despite an encouraging performance and dominating the second half, Paris Saint-Germain were beaten by Olympique Lyonnais.

Ashley Lawrence and her teammates now sit six points behind Lyon, who therefore take home the league title this season. For Paris, just one match awaits them: Matchday 22 of D1 Arkema against Soyaux on Saturday 27 May at the Stade Lebon (17:30).