LONDON :Olympique Lyonnais beat Arsenal 2-1 in the first leg of their women's Champions League semi-final on Saturday after Melchie Dumornay grabbed a winner in the 82nd minute to give the record eight-times champions the upper hand in the tie.

Lyon took the lead 17 minutes in when Kadidiatou Diani was set through on goal on the right wing and the French forward drilled her shot across Manuela Zinsberger in Arsenal's goal to find the far bottom corner.

Arsenal earned a lifeline in the second half when a penalty was awarded after a VAR check for a foul on Leah Williamson and Mariona Caldentey stepped up to take the spot kick and level the score after 78 minutes.

But any hopes of a comeback were snuffed out by Lyon four minutes later when Haitian striker Dumornay used her pace to power past the defence before pulling the trigger to make it 2-1, silencing the 40,000 fans at Emirates Stadium.

The return leg will be played in Lyon on April 27.