Chelsea march into Women's Champions League semis, Lyon power past Benfica

PARIS: Chelsea reached the semi-finals of the Women's Champions League on Wednesday (Mar 27) despite a 1-1 draw at home to Ajax, while Lyon also progressed after brushing aside Benfica in France.

Mayra Ramirez put Chelsea into a first-half lead on her European club debut before Chasity Grant equalised for Ajax in the second half.

Chelsea prevailed 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win in the first leg in Amsterdam.

"Ajax did really well, they came out as we expected them to," said Chelsea midfielder Erin Cuthbert.

"Small margins in football, we could have put a little bit more away, give ourselves a bit more breathing room, but the job was really done in the first leg."

Ajax nearly took the lead in the opening 20 minutes when goalkeeper Zecira Musovic had her clearance charged down by Tiny Hoekstra, but the ball rolled against the post and went agonisingly wide.

Just after the half-hour mark, Ramirez opened her Champions League account with a composed finish after being set free by Guro Reiten.

Now four goals to the good, Emma Hayes' side looked set to cruise into the final four.

Grant put a dampener on the night for Chelsea when she ran on to Hoekstra's through ball and her slightly scuffed finish squirmed its way through Musovic.

With the score level on the night, Chelsea's aggregate lead was insurmountable for Ajax although Musovic did redeem herself in the last 10 minutes when she made excellent fingertip saves to deny Romee Leuchter and then Danique Tolhoek.

Earlier, braces from Delphine Cascarino and Kadidiatou Diani gave eight-times titleholders Lyon a 4-1 victory at the Groupama Stadium to claim the tie 6-2 on aggregate.

Marie-Yasmine Alidou equalised minutes after Cascarino's opener at the end of the first half, but the