Schelin hails Lyon fans after Arsenal win

Double goalscorer Lotta Schelin paid tribute to the Olympique Lyonnais supporters that inspired them to a 2-0 UEFA Women's Champions League semi-final first-leg defeat of Arsenal LFC at Stade de Gerland on Saturday.

Cheered on by a crowd of 20,123, the third highest in UEFA women's club competition history, last season's runners-up raced into a two-goal lead after a breathtaking opening spell of attacking football. Sweden forward Schelin scored an almost identical pair of strikes in the second and 11th minutes when put through down the left by first Camille Abily, then Louisa Nécib, in moves started by the excellent Lara Dickenmann.

"We made a great start," said Schelin, who took her tally in the tournament to nine goals, second only to Inka Grings of FCR 2001 Duisburg. "Maybe it was the crowd that helped us get off to such a good start. We really wanted to play this game in front of our fans and they of course spurred us on in a big way."

The 27-year-old added: "For both goals I saw that I had a bit of space to run with the ball diagonally into the box, so rather than going straight down the wing and crossing, I just went for goal both times and I think the decision paid off."

Lyon threatened to increase their advantage on a number of occasions, most notably when Élodie Thomis was sent clean through by Louisa Nécib ten minutes before half-time, but her effort went just wide of goalkeeper Emma Byrne's post. A more resilient Arsenal side emerged after the break to make sure the French champions take just a two-goal cushion with them to Borehamwood next Saturday.

"It's a pity we were unable to add to the two early goals because we had quite a few chances," said Schelin. "We could have finished off the tie early and we didn't, and now anything can happen in England. But we're not going to say we're disappointed after beating a team like Arsenal 2-0. We'll enjoy this win a little and then concentrate on next week's match."

Captain Laura Georges, whose commanding performance in the centre of defence helped keep the Gunners at bay, was delighted with how her team implemented their game plan to perfection. "We really wanted to start the game with some goals," said the France defender. "We wanted to take the game to them and not let them have a chance of scoring. Our aim was to hit them early and we managed that. It would have been better if we got a third and we nearly did, but we'll certainly take a two-goal victory over Arsenal."