UEFA Women's Champions League holders Olympique Lyonnais will go into Tuesday's quarter-final draw high on confidence after winning a friendly tournament in Saitama, Japan.
Patrice Lair's charges kicked off their visit by defeating Japanese Cup winners NTV Beleza 5-2 in the semi-finals on Friday. Lara Dickenmann scored either side of the break and Louisa Necib and Lotta Schelin also found the net for Lyon, after an own goal had got them up and running after just two minutes. "We couldn't match [Beleza] for short passing, but we proved better at long balls to break them down," said Lair. "Now let's try to improve again for the final."
INAC Kobe Leonessa were the French club's showpiece opponents on Sunday after the Japanese champions defeated Australian counterparts Canberra United FC 4-0 in their own last-four game. The side featuring 2011 FIFA Ballon d'Or winner Homare Sawa long held the lead following Ji So-Yun's strike late in the first half, but Lyon's pressure finally told ten minutes from time when substitute Corine Franco levelled the scores. Left-back Sonia Bompastor then buried from the spot in extra time after Laëtitia Tonazzi was brought down in the area.
"It was a high-quality tournament and we're lucky to have won it," said Lair. "I'm proud to have taken part in it and especially to have visited the country that holds a deserved crown as world champions." The two wins mean Lyon have won all 15 of their matches this season, scoring 83 goals and conceding just five.
The draw for the final stages of the UEFA Women's Champions League will be held in Nyon at 13.30CET on Tuesday and streamed live on UEFA.com.
