Lyon, the defending champion, faced a disappointing result in the quarterfinals of the Champions League by losing at home to Chelsea (0-1) in the first leg of the match. The English team’s basic game plan of quick attacks proved to be the winner, as the Lyonnaises were too inaccurate and timid, leading to a rather dull game.
Despite making many changes to wake up her team, Sonia Bompastor’s players were unable to create many clear chances.
Lyon vs Chelsea Highlights | UEFA Women’s Champions League 22/23
The match witnessed a low technical level, with missed passes, hasty clearances, deflected shots, and missed recoveries. The Chelsea players were more dangerous, and they opened the score with a beautiful shot from Reiten (28th) on a high recovery.
Lyon had a chance to equalize, but Cascarino hit the post (60th) before the Lyonnaises were too exposed to the English counter-attacks. The English team could have doubled the score, but Kerr missed her chances (63rd, 74th).
Le Sommer too timid
The international striker Le Sommer played too timidly and failed to meet the expectations in this Champions League match. Playing alongside Delphine Cascarino at the top of Lyon’s attack, she had only one real chance, which was a ball in front of the goalkeeper (9th) before giving way to Becho at half-time, who did not bring much more.
“Our philosophy is to always play to win. We have to score in the second leg. We have to keep all our ambition and confidence. We have the qualities to win at Chelsea. We now have to recover, lift our heads up, and go there with confidence and ambition.”
– Sonia Bompastor
What’s next: the second leg
Lyon must be much sharper and more skilful in the second leg of the quarterfinals, which will take place in London on March 30, if they hope to reach the last four. Although the Lyonnaises finally succeeded in linking the passing sequences and increasing their pressure, there is still half an hour to go for the equalization.
The team will have to ignite in the last minutes in front of their home crowd and manage to score to win the match.
Overall, Lyon lost the match against Chelsea in the quarterfinals of the Champions League.
The match was characterized by technical waste, missed passes, and approximate controls, leading to inaccuracy on the Lyon side.
Despite making many changes, Lyon failed to create many clear chances, and Chelsea’s counter-attacks proved to be dangerous.