Guro Reiten’s first-half goal helped Chelsea beat Lyon 1-0 to put the London club a step closer to the semifinals of the Women’s Champions League on Wednesday.
The Norway international’s curling strike in the 28th minute puts Chelsea in control against the defending champions heading into the second leg of the quarterfinals next week at Stamford Bridge.
– Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)
Having ridden some early waves of pressure from the hosts, Emma Hayes’ side carved out an opening after a period of sustained possession when Erin Cuthbert expertly played Reiten through and she beat Lyon keeper Christiane Endler for the game’s only goal.
Chelsea could have given themselves a cushion late in the first half when Lauren James jinked in and lashed across the box, but the young attacker could only cannon the ball off the far post.
Lyon were reduced to taking pot shots in lieu of clear-cut chances with Sara Dabritz close to an equaliser just before the break, but the midfielder could only wrap her shot just wide of Ann-Katrin Berger’s upright.
With the game still poised, the best chance of the second half fell to Delphine Cascarino, but like James before her she watched her effort rebound against the woodwork moments before Vicki Becho dropped her own hopeful effort onto the roof of the net.
Despite pressure from the hosts, Chelsea stood firm to claim the narrow win and consign Lyon to their second home loss to English opposition in the Champions League this season.
Chelsea have never won the tournament, losing 4-0 to Barcelona in the 2021 final.
In Wednesday’s other quarterfinal first leg, Paris Saint-Germain were handed a triple whammy at home to Wolfsburg in the space of five second-half minutes. From having a penalty overturned after a VAR review, the Parisiennes then conceded a penalty following another intervention from the VAR with Elisa de Almeida dismissed for her handball in the box.
Dominique Janssen didn’t waste her chance from the spot for a Wolfsburg side that were not at their best on Wednesday, beating PSG keeper Sarah Bouhaddi to give the German side a narrow advantage for the return leg next week.
