Women's Champions League tactical analysis: How Lyon's Dumornay sparkled in Munich
mercredi 19 mars 2025
Résumé de l'article
UEFA Technical Observer Fritzy Kromp highlights the role of Lyon forward Melchie Dumornay in the French side's 2-0 first-leg victory at Bayern in the UEFA Women's Champions League quarter-finals.
Contenu médias de l'article
Corps de l'article
Lyon forward Melchie Dumornay produced an impressive attacking performance to help her side take a 2-0 lead in the first leg of their UEFA Women's Champions League quarter-final against Bayern München on Tuesday evening.
In this article, UEFA Technical Observer Fritzy Kromp, working together with UEFA's analysis unit, highlights Dumornay's key contribution.
A constant attacking threat
The 21-year-old Haitian international posed a constant attacking threat throughout the match while also showcasing her ability in a number of positions across Lyon's front line and midfield. Dumornay, who scored her side's second goal in the 65th minute, proved to be a threat in both transitional moments and during organised possession.
Dumornay was named Player of the Match and stood out for her clever movement, physical attributes and effective finishing. "She had an outstanding game and was very versatile," said Kromp. "Bayern's players struggled to catch her; she was always on the move with her speed and her finish was clinical."
An incisive threat during attacking transitions
Dumornay's clever movement and physical prowess were crucial in helping Lyon transition quickly from defence to attack. In the first clip above, the No6 moves from a central position into space on the left of Lyon's attack, before cleverly combining to exploit space in behind Bayern's back line.
Once the attacker was running forward, it was difficult for Bayern's defenders to recover as she demonstrated her ability to cover ground at high speed.
Receiving with back to goal to connect play
Dumornay's Player of the Match performance underlined her effectiveness in a variety of attacking situations. In clip two, we see how the attacker drops into a deeper midfield position, receiving the ball while tightly marked.
Here, she recognises the aggressive defensive pressure and plays a quick, first-time pass to escape the defender. The Lyon forward further contributes to the move by using her physicality to win a header before running hard to join the attack. Notably, Lyon have four players in the penalty box at the end of the attacking transition.
"When Dumornay was playing with her back to the opponent, she was very tough to defend against," explained Kromp. "The Bayern defenders had no chance to get the ball or see the ball. You had the feeling that no one was able to defend against her."
Dumornay's willingness to drop into deeper positions to receive possession and play forward caused numerous problems for Bayern and was the key feature of Lyon's attacking play. "It was outstanding how much she was dropping in different spaces," said Kromp. "She would regularly come lower than the holding midfielder to receive and, once she had the game in front of her, she was even tougher to defend against.
"It was really remarkable to see how her movement worked with her team-mates," added Kromp. "When she was dropping into midfield in a very low position, a midfield player would then move into the forward position. It looked very familiar to all the players and they knew what to do when Dumornay moved into midfield. It was a very good team performance."
Beating an opponent 1v1 and playing incisive passes
It was not only in transitional moments where Dumornay posed a threat to Bayern. In clip three, we see the attacker receiving the ball in a wide-right position during Lyon's organised possession. After receiving the ball, she showcases her individual ability to beat her opponent 1v1 before sliding a clever through pass into the final third.
Coaching recommendations: Creating a game plan around your best attacking threat
Lyon’s victory against Bayern underlined the benefits of adopting a game plan built around a team's strongest attacking threat. Joe Montemurro's side routinely found Dumornay in positions to hurt the opposition.
"Coaches must recognise the outstanding players in their team and adapt the match plan to bring the best qualities out of these players," explained Kromp. "It is the task of the coach to realise who this player is, what are the player's individual abilities and how they can bring that into the team context.
"These players are the ones that are able to make the difference. Lyon's match plan saw Dumornay dropping in between the lines to link up the play and also saw her getting into situations when she had the game in front of her."
Further analysis
