US forward Alex Morgan joins Lyon on 6-month deal

LYON, France (AP) — United States forward Alex Morgan has joined European champion Lyon from Orlando Pride on a six-month deal, with an option for her to play a further season.

Morgan has made 120 appearances for the U.S. women’s team and scored 73 goals, winning the Olympic gold medal in 2012 and the World Cup last year in Canada.

“I’m very happy to start this new challenge with Olympique Lyonnais,” Morgan told the club’s website on Tuesday. “It’s a great opportunity to play alongside the best players in the world.”

Lyon is in second place in the league this season, three points behind unbeaten Paris Saint-Germain. A 1-0 defeat to PSG on Saturday was Lyon’s first league loss in more than two years.

The 27-year-old Morgan will form what looks on paper like a devastating attacking partnership with France striker Eugenie Le Sommer, who has 16 goals in 12 games this season and 186 overall since joining Lyon in 2010.

Morgan said in a long letter on The Players Tribune website that she made the decision during “a belated honeymoon that I recently took with my husband, Servando,…