Tag: beth mead

Arsenal demolishes Lyon 5-1 in UEFA Women’s Champions League stunner

Beth Mead and Caitlin Foord both struck twice in a shocking result

2022 is a good year for women’s soccer in England, and Arsenal seems intent on keeping the party going.

The Gunners started their UEFA Women’s Champions League group schedule with arguably the most difficult assignment in women’s club soccer: a road game against Olympique Lyon. That’s defending UWCL champion Lyon, who generally pick a starting eleven that reads like a veritable world all-star team.

Despite all that, and being without Leah Williamson, and controversially starting with Vivianne Miedema on the bench, Arsenal made light work out of Lyon. The 2021-22 Women’s Super League runners-up crushed the French giants 5-1 at Groupama Stadium, with Caitlin Foord and Beth Mead both scoring twice.

While Lyon were missing multiple starters on their back line and up front, Arsenal were hardly expected to wipe the floor with them like this. Instead, the visitors were ruthless from start to finish, breaking a 22-game home unbeaten run for the defending champs. Arsenal’s five goals are the most any visiting team has ever scored on Lyon in competitive play

Arsenal opened the scoring in the 13th minute, with Kim Little playing a splendid ball in behind the Lyon defense for Mead, whose low cross found Foord wide open at the back post.

Eight minutes later Frida Maanum — in her first-ever Champions League start — doubled the lead. Arsenal again played a ball from deep in behind, catching Lyon’s defense unprepared. Christiane Endler kicked Stina Blackstenius’ initial shot away, but Maanum calmly tucked the rebound into the far corner.

While Melvine Malard pulled one back in the 27th minute, Arsenal got into the break with a two-goal edge thanks to Mead. The England star sent a low free kick around the Lyon wall, and Endler couldn’t keep the shot out despite getting a hand to it.

If Endler didn’t look good on that goal, another international star would look worse as Arsenal made it 4-1 in the 67th minute. France captain Wendie Renard went for a long cross-field switch, but fired the ball right to Foord instead, and the Australian settled before curling a beautiful shot past Endler, ending any real hope for Lyon to come back in the match.

Mead would add a fifth two minutes later, as more sloppy passing from Lyon handed Arsenal another chance to counter. Maanum picked off a back pass to no one in particular, and then saw Mead’s storming run from deep. Mead charged onto the ball, taking one touch before beating Endler with a powerfully-struck low shot.

 

Trying to salvage anything from the game, Lindsey Horan hit the post with a stoppage-time header for Lyon, but it simply was not her side’s day. Fortunately for them, there are still five more games in group C, though the pressure will be on both from a results perspective, and simply in terms of performance. They face a road match at Juventus next Thursday, October 27, and a loss would put them in truly dire straits in terms of getting to the knockout rounds.

Watch Arsenal hit Lyon up for five goals

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Catarina Macario, Alex Morgan, Trinity Rodman represent USWNT on 2022 Ballon d’Or shortlist

Three USWNT players made France Football’s list of Ballon d’Or nominees

The 2022 Ballon d’Or nominees are out, and with three USWNT players making France Football’s 20-player shortlist.

Catarina Macario, Alex Morgan, and Trinity Rodman were all nominated for the award, which was inaugurated in 2018 after existing for over 60 years on the men’s side. The Ballon d’Or focuses on the 2021-22 season, rather than a calendar year body of work.

The USWNT has been somewhat curiously overlooked by the Ballon d’Or, with only the 2019 World Cup-winning team really registering with voters. That year, Megan Rapinoe won the Ballon d’Or, with Alex Morgan coming in third, but in 2018 and 2021 (there was no 2020 award due to the Covid-19 pandemic), no USWNT players or NWSL-based players made the top three.

Macario may be injured at the moment, but she emerged as a locked-in starter essentially from the moment she arrived at Lyon. She capped off a spectacular season in France by scoring in the Champions League final as Lyon defeated a Barcelona side that had lost just once all year coming into the match.

Morgan’s return from giving birth has included a change of club, but she’s also had arguably the best club season of her entire career with the San Diego Wave. Morgan has 15 goals in 18 competitive games for San Diego this season, and then won the Golden Ball at the CONCACAF W Championship after helping the USWNT qualify for both the 2023 World Cup and 2024 Olympics.

Rodman was one of the stories of the 2021 NWSL season, winning the Rookie of the Year award and being a crucial factor for the Washington Spirit’s run to their first-ever league championship. Since the start of August 2021, Rodman has posted 12 goals and 8 assists, including an equalizer in last year’s semifinal and the assist on the Kelley O’Hara goal that gave the Spirit their first trophy.

The USWNT trio are joined on the list by a familiar group of players who all happen to call Europe’s biggest clubs their home. Macario is one of five Lyon players nominated, while Barcelona matched that total, meaning that two clubs employ half of the list of nominees.

Arsenal, Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, and Wolfsburg had two players on the shortlist each, with the entirety of the NWSL being represented by Morgan and Rodman.

The full list of 2022 Women’s Ballon d’Or nominees

  • Selma Bacha (Lyon)
  • Aitana Bonmatí (Barcelona)
  • Millie Bright (Chelsea)
  • Lucy Bronze (Barcelona)
  • Kadidiatou Diani (Paris Saint-Germain)
  • Christiane Endler (Lyon)
  • Ada Hegerberg (Lyon)
  • Marie-Antoinette Katoto (Paris Saint-Germain)
  • Sam Kerr (Chelsea)
  • Catarina Macario (Lyon)
  • Beth Mead (Arsenal)
  • Vivianne Miedema (Arsenal)\
  • Alex Morgan (San Diego Wave FC)
  • Lena Oberdorf (Wolfsburg)
  • Asisat Oshoala (Barcelona)
  • Alexandra Popp (Wolfsburg)
  • Alexia Putellas (Barcelona)
  • Wendie Renard (Lyon)
  • Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit)
  • Fridolina Rolfö (Barcelona)

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England into Euro 2022 final after storming past Sweden 4-0

Ruthless finishing took England into the Euro 2022 final

A scintillating second half saw England smash Sweden 4-0, taking the hosts into the Euro 2022 final on Sunday.

A frenetic early pace actually favored Sweden, with Mary Earps kicking away a good look from Sofia Jakobsson within the first minute. Stina Blackstenius hit the crossbar shortly thereafter in an end-to-end opening.

Sweden had a distinct advantage in terms of chances, but England struck first in the 34th minute. A break up the left side from Rachel Daly and Lauren Hemp didn’t quite work out, but Lucy Bronze collected the ball before it went out and drove a cross back into the box for Beth Mead, who lashed home a half-volley, her sixth of the tournament.

England then got a further boost barely 70 seconds after the second half got underway. A corner to the back post found Lucy Bronze, whose header sneaked its way through a crowd before tucking into the bottom corner.

Mead—standing directly in front of Sweden goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl—was suspected of being offside, but a VAR check cleared the goal, giving England a 2-0 lead.

Hemp then cracked a point-blank sitter off the crossbar after being expertly set up by Alessia Russo. Earps robbed Sweden of a goal, but at the other end the hosts put the game to bed with an extraordinary goal in the 68th minute.

A sublime passing sequence seemed to set up a sure chance for Russo, only for the substitute to fire right at Lindahl. Sweden felt they had escaped, but Russo moved to the rebound and blindly backheeled it, catching Lindahl and everyone else by complete surprise to make it 3-0.

Lindahl’s day went from bad to worse as the veteran failed to catch Fran Kirby’s 76th minute lob, instead having to watch as it slowly bounced over the line for England’s fourth, giving the crowd in Sheffield the chance to start the party early.

England will face either Germany or France in the final, with those two playing their semifinal on Wednesday.

Watch all four of England’s goals

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