Erin Cuthbert’s gut-busting drive to win the ball, nutmeg a defender and provide the assist for Guro Reiten was the moment of magic needed to take a slim but critical lead in Chelsea’s battle with holders Lyon for a place in the Champions League semi-finals.
It was not the prettiest of performances from either side, which was somewhat reflective of the less-than-electric – but still efficient – seasons the WSL and Ligue 1 leaders are having.
A trip to the home of the holders and eight-time champions Lyon was never going to be easy. Yet, this season, the serial winners have struggled, their rhythm blighted.
Yet the French giants still sit one point clear at the top of Ligue 1, are in the final of the Coupe de France and have their eyes on Europe. Such are the standards set by Europe’s premier women’s team that progressing from the group stage in second place was a failure, to an extent.
There were two changes to the Lyon side that secured a 2-0 win over Fleury in the Coupe de France at the weekend, with forward Eugénie Le Sommer and full-back Perle Morroni taking the places of Vicki Becho and Selma Bacha respectively. The presence of Champions League record goal scorer Ada Hegerberg, who has 59 goals in 60 games in the competition, on the bench for the first time in six months was welcome, and showed the extent of the holes the French side has had to fill for much of the season.
Meanwhile, although Emma Hayes has had to grapple with injuries to Pernille Harder and Fran Kirby, the Chelsea manager was able to rest a number of key players for her team’s FA Cup win against Reading on Sunday, with only Millie Bright, Jess Carter, Sophie Ingle and Reiten retaining their place in the starting XI for Lyon.
If a weakened Lyon starting XI was a more attractive prospect than a full-strength one, it didn’t look it. Much of the first 25 minutes was spent in the visitors’ half, but clear-cut chances were rare. Chelsea goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger was forced to race out early on after Dszenifer Marozsan’s through-ball to Le Sommer caught Kadeisha Buchanan napping, but she put her effort wide as Berger closed off her options.
It was far from the tantalisingly high-energy encounter between Arsenal and Bayern Munich on Tuesday night. Instead, there was a scrappiness to play at the Groupama Stadium. So, while Chelsea’s goal was decidedly against the run of play, it also wasn’t surprising. Erin Cuthbert was instrumental in the build-up, battling the ball away from the feet of Ellie Carpenter and nutmegging Damaris Egurrola before feeding Reiten who curled her effort beyond Christiane Endler.
It was almost two, five minutes later, with the majestic Lauren James sweeping free on the right, playing a one-two with Sam Kerr before coming to a stop in front of Morroni, waiting for an opening, then beating the full-back and smacking a low effort off the base of the far post.
Lyon would go close again, with Sara Däbritz curling an effort just wide of the post but they couldn’t find the leveller. There was a big blow for Chelsea at the close of the half, with centre-back Bright twisting her foot awkwardly, forcing her off, with club captain Magda Eriksson on in her place.
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The second half mirrored the end of the first, with a feisty and evenly matched midfield duel being played out ahead of solid defensive performances from both teams. There was almost calamity for the Blues just past the hour mark though, as Eriksson passed straight to Lyon substitute Becho and the forward squared to Delphine Cascarino, but her strike was tipped on to the post by the fingertips of Berger.
The home team continued to push for the equaliser that would see them travel to Stamford Bridge next week on level terms, but they just couldn’t find a way through.
Instead, Chelsea return home with the knowledge they can win ugly against the very best in Europe and with the drive for a first Champions League trophy still very much on track.