This was always going to be a special evening as two top sides met in the UWCL league phase at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais. Head coach Sonia Bompastor and her assistant Camille Abily returned to Lyon for the first time since they left for Chelsea in 2024.

There were also returns to Lyon for Lucy Bronze, Kadeisha Buchanan, Ellie Carpenter and Melvine Malard, who all crossed paths during their respective spells with the French side.

The clear quality of the two teams cancelled each other out for long periods of the game. There were tough challenges all over the pitch as these elite competitors challenged each other to the very maximum level.

In the second half, there was high drama with three VAR decisions and a huge save from Hannah Hampton. Yet this was a fair result and a point very well earned away from home against one of Europe's best teams.

Changes made

Head coach Bompastor made two alterations to her starting line-up following Sunday's win over Arsenal, bringing in Veerle Buurman and Sjoeke Nusken for Katie McCabe and Lauren James.

Buurman made herself known within 30 seconds of the kick-off, stopping a Lyon attack with one of her perfectly timed sliding tackles on the right-hand touchline. That was a good marker for how the opening exchanges would unfold, as neither side could find any rhythm, with play stopped often for niggly fouls.

The first 15 minutes would see us dominate possession with a 61 per cent share of the ball, but our only real attempt on goal was a speculative hooked effort from Malard which went over the bar. Lyon had their first effort on target soon afterwards when a quick break from Melchie Dumornay saw her play a dangerous through-ball to Salma Paralluello, but Hampton was equal to her attempt.

Penalty denied

Dumornay's pace was causing problems in the middle, and Lexi Potter was penalised for a foul on the Haitian just outside the penalty area just before the half-hour mark. Selma Bacha took the free-kick, and her curling attempt was thankfully too high to trouble Hampton.

Neither side seemed willing to fully commit to attack, as the encounter remaining cagey as the clock ticked towards half-time.

The second half began with a determined run down the left from Buurman, and as she strode forward, Lyon's Jule Brand brought her down and received a yellow card for the foul. The resulting free-kick saw Nusken felled in the penalty area, and after a few moments of delay, the Video Assistant Referee recommended that the match official view the incident on the screen.

No penalty was awarded, seemingly because of an offside against Bronze, although Tarciane did receive a yellow card for the foul on Nusken.

More VAR interventions

After earning a clean sheet in each of our previous four matches, the Blues were defending resolutely once again. The size of Lyon's pitch seemed to make it hard for us to attack with any real purpose, too.

The home side had the ball in the net after 70 minutes through Paralluelo, but the attempt was ruled out for offside. The fortunes seemed to have swung in our favour when Lauren James looked to have been tripped inside the box, and the referee immediately awarded a penalty.

Yet on closer inspection, it seemed as though the forward had simply lost her footing and VAR cancelled the decision.

Late drama

Both sides seemed happy to play it safe and share the points in the final ten minutes; however, there were some more big chances before the final whistle. For Chelsea, Alyssa Thompson drove to the byline and pulled the ball back brilliantly for James in the centre of the box, but she could only direct her shot at goalkeeper Mala Grohs.

Then, a brilliant crossfield ball from Lily Yohannes met the head of Ada Hegerberg, only for Hampton to pull off a superb flying save to deny the competition's all-time leading goalscorer.

The VAR checks meant there were eight minutes of time added on to the 90, and Hampton received medical attention after receiving a whack from Temwa Chawinga. Livia Peng was warming up, but Hampton played on.

With just seconds still to play, a shot from second-half substitute Maika Hamano went agonisingly wide of the far post with the goalkeeper beaten. In the end, though, the draw was a fair result for both teams after an elite European encounter.

What it means...

We have taken four points from our opening two matches in the Women's Champions League. Our next UWCL challenge is against Roma at Plough Lane on 28 October.

Up next...

We travel to West Ham United in the Women's Super League on Sunday afternoon, before our players head off to represent their respective national teams during the international break. We return to action with a home game against Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge on 18 October.

The teams

Chelsea: Hampton, Carpenter, Bronze (c), Buchanan, Buurman, Walsh, Potter, Kaptein, Nusken, Thompson, Malard (James 58)
Unused substitutes: Peng, Spencer, Pelz, Bjorn, Las, Dragoni, Brown, Hamano, Baltimore, Beever-Jones Booked: Potter 27

Lyon: Grohs, Engen, Tarciane (Renard 76), Bacha (c), Brand, Egurrola, Yohannes, Paralluelo (Chawinga 76), Weir (Becho 76), Katoto (Hegerberg 64), Dumornay
Unused substitutes: Endler, Belhadj, Shrader, Benyahia, Lawrence, Swierot, Sangare, Joseph
Booked: Brand 50, Tarciane 54

Referee: Marta Huerta De Aza