Renee Slegers insists ‘everything is different’ in return game with Lyon

Arsenal boss Renee Slegers stressed this year’s Women’s Champions League semi-final second leg meeting against Lyon is “different” to when the two teams met last season.

The Gunners claimed a 4-1 second-leg win away to the French outfit on that occasion, having lost 2-1 at home, and the north London side then went on to win the competition with a 1-0 triumph over Barcelona.

Both teams had also met in the early stages of this year’s Champions League, with Arsenal falling to a 2-1 defeat in their first game of the league phase.

However, with a spot in the final at stake going into Saturday’s contest, Slegers insisted the Gunners still have to “earn the right”.

She told a press conference: “It’s very simple, I think you can’t compare the two occasions. Everything is different this year, the scenario is different as well, last time we were 2-1 down, now we’re 2-1 up, so everything is different.

This weekend’s other semi-final tie sees Barcelona host Bayern Munich on Sunday.

They enter the second leg tied at 1-1 after Franziska Kett cancelled out Ewa Pajor’s opener, but Bayern finished with 10 players after their goalscorer was shown a red card with 11 minutes to play meaning she will be suspended for the return fixture.