In a night when Lyon consistently created but failed to take the majority of their chances against Montpellier it was Dzsenifer Marozsán who was the difference, firing home in both halves.
Stubborn defence
With their first clear-cut chance arriving just before the clock ticked into the third minute, the hosts showed no signs of wanting to play conservatively, the ball locked in the away half. The chances rained in for Lyon, Marozsán tried her hand either side of a low curler from Lucy Bronze that trickled just wide as Montpellier struggled to clear their lines time and again.
Those in white cut forward like a well-oiled machine, gobbling up space and pinging the ball between each other with ease, the visitors opened up as they attempted to cope. The corner count rose for Lyon as Méline Gérard stayed ever vigilant, her goal under constant threat, her clean sheet staying the course, just about. Another chance for the hosts as Shanice van de Sanden cut a low shot just wide of the far post, Lyon with far more understanding between their attackers than their opposition.
A cutting run from Bronze brought about an opening for Amel Majri, her effort deflected out for yet another corner, Amandine Henry’s header bouncing tantalisingly close to the goal line.
The inevitable
The match rolled into its second third, the challenges growing increasingly robust from the southern team, bodies in blue flying in to slide and block, resolute to keep the parity. For Lyon it felt like an inevitability that they would score, the question was simply which was the piece of straw to break the camel’s back. For Montpelier there was a deeper problem of on the rare occasion when they got into the attacking third there was little to no cohesion between teammates. A neat cut-back from Sofia Jakobsson five minutes before half-time brought about the first real chance for the visitors, Charlotte Leger’s scuffed effort not enough to work Sarah Bouhaddi.
The chance only served to spur the hosts on, Eugénie Le Sommer in a glorious spot to score seconds later, her teasing curler not enough to beat the post. The inevitable goal finally making itself known two minutes before the break as white shirts piled forward, the visitors hopelessly off-balance as the ball slipped to Marozsán for the German to poke it into the empty net.
Déjà vu
The second half was eerily similar to the first, the first chance for Lyon coming just 115 seconds after the kick-off, the hosts ruthlessly attacking and Montpellier looking decidedly off colour. Gérard was back on her toes, to deny Le Sommer from close range ten minutes into the half before Marozsán unleashed a shot from outside the box that failed to trouble the 27-year-old.
A delightful move from the host had the fans off of their seats ready to cheer a second goal, Marozsán striding through midfield to slip past Laura Agard before completing a one-two with Le Sommer to evade the last defender. On the edge of the area the German struck, the ball looping over the goalkeeper before clipping the underside of the bar and bouncing the wrong side of the line. Majri lively for the follow-up, her header scooping over the bar and onto the roof of the net, two thirds of the match already in the can.
Still one of the most lively on the pitch, Marozsán sent the ball into the mixer from 25-yards, her free kick dealt with but given a second chance moments later the midfielder went for glory. The ball delicately lifted over he mass of bodies in the box as she arced towards the far corner, Gérard’s gloves nowhere near as the ball rocketed into the top corner.
Predictably, Lyon continued to dictate the rest of the match, chances ten a penny but the hosts still failing to extend their lead, Montpellier still blunted in attack, a Linda Sembrant stoppage time header enough to rob Sarah Bouhaddi of her clean sheet but nothing more.