Rising USWNT star Catarina Macario continued what's arguably been the finest season ever by an American abroad by scoring twice in Lyon's 3-2 first leg Champions League semifinal victory over French rival PSG at Groupama Stadium on Sunday.
Things started poorly for the home side when PSG's Marie-Antoinette Katoto diced Wendie Renard in the area before beating Christiane Endler at her near post in the sixth-minute.
Katoto scores her sixth goal in her last five @UWCL appearances to put PSG ahead
— DAZN Football (@DAZNFootball) April 24, 2022
However, PSG keeper Barbora Votíková took out Lyon forward Melvine Malard in the 23rd for a clear penalty and Renard made amends from the spot on her record-setting 100th UWCL appearance.
With the crowd roaring them on, Lyon's press started causing PSG all sorts of problems. In the 33rd minute, a PSG goal kick was played directly at Ada Hegerberg, and the Norwegian quickly picked out Macario for the finish.
Macário capitalises on a mistake and scores in her fourth consecutive @UWCL game
— DAZN Football (@DAZNFootball) April 24, 2022
It was a nightmarish first half for Votíková, and then PSG's keeper gifted Macario a second just five minutes into the second half. This was an incredibly bizarre goal.
Macario reaps the rewards after causing the PSG defence a real nuisance
— DAZN Football (@DAZNFootball) April 24, 2022
The 22-year-old American now has eights goals and two assists in 10 UWCL appearances this campaign to go along with 13 goals and four assists in 17 D1 Féminine games (21 goals across all competitions). After scoring three goals in her last two USWNT appearances, it's clear that Macario is now the star of the show for club and country.
Lindsey Horan went the full 90 in midfield for Lyon and helped set the tempo that saw PSG rocking before a Lyon handball allowed PSG to pull one back from the spot through Paulina Dudek in the 58th minute.
Things got progressively cagier over the final 30 minutes — although we got a flurry of opportunities from both sides in the final minutes — so we head to the Parc des Princes next Saturday with Lyon holding a 3-2 advantage. PSG's lucky it's just a one-goal deficit on the overall balance of play, but they'll like their chances in Paris.
The winner advances to the final at Juventus Stadium in Turin, Italy, on Saturday, May 21. Barcelona, the defending champion, has a 5-1 first leg aggregate lead over Wolfsburg in the other semifinal.
