The 21-year-old played a starring role in OL's run to last season's European final and is hoping to test herself against the best again this year
It’s fair to say that Melchie Dumornay is fulfilling her potential. Four years after first appearing on GOAL’s annual NXGN list of the best teenage talents in world football, she speaks from her home in Lyon as a representative of the eight-time European champions, and just a few months after playing in her first Champions League final. Things are going pretty well.
You only have to look behind her, at a canvas on her wall, for a reminder of the huge hype that she has lived up to. On there is a picture of Dumornay holding the 2022 NXGN award, which crowned her the most talented teenager on the planet. Back then, she was playing for Reims, one of the best clubs in the women’s game for developing young players. But even before she left her native Haiti to join Reims at 18 years old, she knew where she wanted to be eventually. She wanted to play for Lyon.
Speaking to GOAL before boarding that flight to France three years ago, she knew some people at home might be disappointed that Reims was her first big move abroad, not OL or Paris Saint-Germain. “But people who know football will understand my decision,” she said. “For the other people, it's okay. I will prove them wrong in the future.”
Dumornay is certainly doing that now. Last season, she shone on the biggest stage, scoring twice in Lyon’s Champions League semi-final tie with PSG to secure passage to the final in Bilbao. There, they would fall just short in a tightly contested affair with Barcelona, who retained their title thanks to a 2-0 win. But that’s only made the French giants, and Dumornay, all the more hungry as the 2024-25 European campaign gets under way.
GettyDream move
It always felt like Dumornay was destined to play for Lyon. After catching the eye for Haiti's youth and senior teams before her 18th birthday, she flew out to France to train with the perennial champions but, because of her age, couldn't sign a contract. When that obstacle was removed, she was smart. Signing for Reims allowed her to develop to the point that, in the summer of 2023, her dream move became inevitable.
“It was a dream come true,” she tells GOAL today. “Every day I spend at the club, it’s really magic. It’s something I looked at for a long time, and to win trophies and have a lot of good moments with the team. It’s an honour and a pleasure to be here.
“Before I was in Lyon, I already had the mentality of the club because I always wanted to win everything, always be better in everything, always be first at everything. It's my mentality also, so I think we match.”
AdvertisementGettyMaking a splash
It wasn’t easy for Dumornay to make an impact in her first season with the French giants. An ankle injury sidelined her for several months, making her involvement in the motivating team talk campaign with and all the more pertinent, but she certainly made up for lost time upon her return.
Despite the team as a whole also being hampered by absences, the 21-year-old stepped up, delivering big moments in the Champions League in particular. Lyon had a nightmare start to their semi-final tie with PSG, going 2-0 down in their home leg after just 48 minutes. As the clock ticked into the 80th minute and the score remained unchanged, it looked like they were going to have a mountain to climb in Paris.
But up popped Kadidiatou Diani with a goal that gave them hope. Then, five minutes later, Durmonay bagged an equaliser. Better yet, within seconds of that strike, the Haiti star teed up Amel Majri to score Lyon’s third goal in six minutes, turning a 2-0 deficit into a 3-2 advantage. There was still lots of work to do, though, and only when Dumornay scored an 81st minute winner in the second leg, making it 5-3 on aggregate, was OL's place in the final properly secured.
“After I had my injury, I got a bit down,” the 21-year-old admits. “It was really hard to come back. But I made it necessary to do everything possible. I had a lot of support from my team-mates and the club. I’m really proud of my comeback.”
Getty'Something special'
Ada Hegerberg, the Women's Champions League’s all-time top goal-scorer, was one of many missing for Lyon for that semi-final. Speaking to GOAL earlier this year, she admitted that she is a terrible watcher from the sidelines. “I lost my voice a couple of times during the semi-finals,” she laughed. So after watching Dumornay play a key role in Lyon’s turnaround, it’s no surprise she was full of praise for her team-mate.
“Melchie is incredible,” Hegerberg said. “I think she has something special. In the end, it's all about what's in your head. How motivated are you to become better, to take in from the ones around you? I remember when I came into Lyon as a young kid, having Lotta Schelin and Camille Abily and all these players, and I tried to soak in as much as I could, in order to just take those steps I could.
“I think you're damn lucky to come into Lyon and have these world-class players around you, to see how they behave themselves on a daily basis. It couldn't be a better development environment, so they're lucky as well.
"Melchie has something very special and she can only get better. I think you can see that she's really eager to become better. For me, that's the most important thing.”
Getty ImagesLearning from the best
It's no surprise to hear that Hegerberg has noticed that eagerness in Dumornay, as the 21-year-old admits that she is always trying to learn from the striker. Naturally a midfielder, due to injuries, she has often found herself in the No.9 role that Hegerberg has mastered. As such, there are few better players she could be nurtured by.
“I ask Ada a lot of questions every day when I'm with her, like on how to be an attacker, because my first position is midfield,” Dumornay explains. “I'm an attacker also but I'm in front of the goal more than I was before, so she gave me all the details and the way she looked at things is very different to the way I see it. Off the pitch and on the pitch, she's a big team-mate for me. We have a good connection.”
Dumornay has clearly picked up a few things, too. Last season, she scored nine goals in all competitions despite making just 13 starts. This year, filling the centre-forward role in Hegerberg’s absence, she has continued that momentum, netting four goals in her first three league outings.