Guro Reiten gives Chelsea quarter-final advantage over Lyon after first leg

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