AUDIO: 0:4 after extra time: Wolfsburg is eliminated against Lyon (1 min)
Champions League
As of: April 2, 2026 11:58 p.m
The VfL Wolfsburg footballers missed out on a place in the semi-finals of the Champions League. After the narrow 1-0 win in the first leg against OL Lyonnes, the Lower Saxony team lost 4-0 after extra time in France on Thursday evening.
After regular playing time, the French were able to make up for the defeat from the first comparison with a goal from Lily Yohannes (16th). In extra time, Melchie Dumornay (102nd), Damaris Egurrola (105th + 2) and Tabitha Chawinga (119th) ensured the deserved success for the hosts, who were overwhelmingly superior for long stretches of the game.
Lyon now face Arsenal in the semi-finals
In the semi-finals (April 25th/26th and May 2nd/3rd) Lyon will now face Arsenal FC. The team led by former Wolfsburg player Anneke Borbe progressed despite a 0-1 defeat in the second leg against London rivals Chelsea FC. The defending champions won 3-1 in front of their home crowd.
In the second semi-final the German champions face FC Bayern Munich – eliminated Manchester United – on the FC Barcelona, who clearly defeated Real Madrid twice (6:2/6:0).
Wolfsburg under pressure from the start
The VfL women faced furiously attacking hosts from the start at the Groupama Stadium in Lyon. Coach Jonatan Giráldez’s team, led by former Wolfsburg player Jule Brand, ran very high against the Lower Saxony team, winning a lot of the ball early on and pulling off an impressive power play. The “She-Wolves” were constantly under pressure and hardly ever found solutions to free themselves from the clutches of the series champions.
Lily Yohannes (l.) gave Lyon a 1-0 lead.
After just a few seconds, Korbin Shrader had the French team up 1-0. However, the American’s shot clearly missed the target. Afterwards, there were no clear opportunities for the favorites to score, which spoke for Wolfsburg’s concentrated defensive work.
But then Camilla Küver lost the ball to the busy Kadidiatou Diani in her own penalty area. The ball reached Yohannes via Ada Hegerberg, who scored to give Lyon the lead. However, the 18-year-old benefited from the fact that Janina Minge decisively falsified her finish. So keeper Stina Johannes was powerless.
Vfl women without a shot on goal in the first section
The sovereign leader of the Première Ligue continued to storm on undeterred even after the 1-0 lead, as if he had to make up for a 0-5 deficit. The Giráldez team played consistently on the wings and managed to tear apart VfL’s five-man defense chain again and again. Somehow the “Wolfs” always managed to either stop the attacks at the last moment or get a leg between the French women’s shots.
Vivien Endemann (r.) and her Wolfsburg teammates had to fight hard against superior French players led by Jule Brand.
The people of Lower Saxony had to suffer. And they did it with remarkable bravery. Coach Stephan Lerch’s team owed their traveling fans their own offensive actions before the break.
Lineth Beerensteyn was the only one who ran her lungs out of her throat, but she couldn’t provide any relief on her own. With the 0-1 deficit at the break, the Bundesliga club was still very well served considering Lyon’s 17-0 shots on goal.
Levels has balance on his feet
Even after the break, VfL women’s trips to Lyon’s half were an absolute rarity. It was the hosts who continued to initiate attack after attack. However, the French continued to make the wrong decisions in the Wolfsburg penalty area.
Their own inability, the attentive goalkeeper Johannes and also a bit of bad luck at the end made the Giráldez team almost despair a little as the game continued to last. And their own usury of chances was almost punished with the equalizer: After one of the very few Wolfsburg counterattacks, Janou Levels suddenly appeared free in front of keeper Christiane Endler, but was denied by the German-Chilean who rushed out (78′).
It was the Lower Saxony team’s only significant shot on goal before the start of extra time. Having saved themselves in this way was already a success for VfL considering the way the game went.
Double blow shattered VfL dreams
However, the Lower Saxony team had nothing to add in extra time. Initially, the Lerch team was lucky that referee Marta Huerta De Aza refused to recognize a goal by Marie-Antoinette Katoto due to an offside position by assister Vicki Becho (100th).
Soon afterwards, Dumornay and Egurrola scored a double blow to make the decision in Lyon’s favor. Both goals were preceded by corner kicks, which VfL defended poorly.
In the second round of extra time, the Lower Saxons once again defended themselves against the elimination of the premier class, but were no longer able to pose any problems for the French. Shortly before the end, Chawinga finally sent VfL into the valley of tears after a solo goal to make it 4-0.
