Chelsea take first-leg advantage at Lyon

Chelsea have taken a crucial first-leg win away from Lyon as a first-half Guro Reiten strike was enough to beat Lyon, who looked toothless in front of goal.

Lyon hosted Chelsea Women at the Groupama Stadium as they looked to continue their charge towards back-to-back UWCL titles. They faced a difficult matchup against the 2021 finalists, whose first-half strike remained unanswered until the final whistle.

The hosts started as the dominant side, taking the game to their visitors and threatening to pool ahead, but they did not manage to break down the resilient Chelsea.

The game continued in that vein until Chelsea played their way into the game. Their period of dominance was immediately rewarded when Guro Reiten ran unto the ball around the edge of the area before placing a delicious curler into the bottom right corner. 

Chelsea threatened a second, as they had the hosts pegged back but were lacking in the final balls. The first-half broke into a game of transitions, with both teams exchanging body shots, but with neither landing anything telling. 

The second-half started slowly but soon burst into life. Lyon continued to be all bark and no bite before Chelsea grew in confidence and led a period of dominance midway through the second-half as they did in the first. 

It served as a kick in the behind for Lyon, whose performance greatly improved and went unluckily close to scoring. Both teams continued to swap moments until the final whistle, with neither managing to