Arsenal’s Women’s Champions League defence starts with defeat to Lyon

Two individual errors saw Arsenal’s defence of their Champions League get off to a losing start in a 2-1 defeat at home to Lyon.

Melchie Dumornay punished both mistakes to turn the game around after Alessia Russo’s early strike had put the Gunners ahead at Meadow Park.

Arsenal goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar rushed her attempted pass out from the back and picked out Dumornay just outside her penalty area and the Champions League young player of the year for the last two seasons rolled the ball home at the second attempt.

Van Domselaar also had a hand in the visitors’ second in the 23rd minute, although Mariona Caldentey had to shoulder most of the blame.

The goalkeeper rolled the ball out to the Spain midfielder who turned straight into trouble and lost possession and when Katie Reid’s weak header dropped to Dumornay on the edge of the area she fired home.

That undid the ideal start given to them by Russo in only the seventh minute of this repeat of last season’s semi-final.

Fellow England international Beth Mead’s persistence allowed her to keep possession on the edge of the Lyon penalty area and slide through a pass which Russo drove left-footed across Christiane Endler.

Caldentey tried to redeem herself with a 25th-minute volley when the ball dropped to her 20 yards out but her effort was well saved low down Endler.

But the visitors continued to look the more dangerous and Tabitha Chawinga flashed a shot just wide of the post before then being denied by the goalkeeper, who got up quickly to stop Marie-Antoinette Katoto’s rebound.

Lyon had the best chance of the second half when Katoto stabbed wide from close range at the near post as Arsenal, who lost their opening game a year ago to Bayern Munich before going on to win the title, struggled to test Endler.