Lyon beat Lille on penalties to reach League Cup final

Olympique Lyonnais booked a place in the League Cup final by beating Lille 4-3 on penalties after a 2-2 home draw on Tuesday.

Loic Remy's stoppage-time spot kick had given Lille a lifeline but OL keeper Ciprian Tatarusanu saved Jonathan Bamba's opening penalty in the shootout and Renato Sanches missed their final kick to see the home side through.

Before Remy's last-gap equaliser, Lyon had gone ahead five minutes from time when Moussa Dembele cancelled out Sanches's opener in the first half at the Groupama stadium.

Lyon, who had a see-saw first half of the season, have now won four of their last five games in all competitions and are still chasing the League Cup, French Cup and Champions League.

They will meet Stade de Reims or Paris Saint-Germain, who face each other on Wednesday, in the League Cup final. Lyon are bidding to claim the trophy for the second time.

Lille took the lead in the 12th minute when Sanches fired home from just inside the box but Lyon were level four minutes later with a Dembele penalty after Gabriel Magalhaes handled.

The home side thought they had secured victory in the 85th minute when Aouar's floating strike went past keeper Leo Jardim but Rafael's poor tackle on Jonathan Bamba earned Lille a stoppage-time penalty that was coolly converted by Remy.

With no extra time being played in the League Cup since the 2017 edition, the contest went straight to a penalty shootout in which Lyon converted all of their spot kicks.

This is the last season of the League Cup, which was created in 1995 and been won a record eight times by PSG, after the French league voted to suspend the competition having failed to secure a broadcaster for 2020-2024.