How on earth did Chelsea escape this? With 122 minutes on the clock against Lyon, the dominant force in the Champions League, Chelsea were done, out, and had reached the end of their road in this competition. But the night after Arsenal made the Emirates their home, Chelsea had their moment at Stamford Bridge to join them in the semi-finals. How they needed those fans in the Shed End during the penalty shootout, as Ann-Katrin Berger saved from Wendie Renard and then Lindsey Horan to seal a famous victory on a night of stunning drama.
With a sense of growing inevitability, Lyon had shown the authority of eight-time winners to overturn Chelsea’s first-leg lead. In extra time Chelsea were doing all they could to hold on, down to their barest of bones. With Chelsea depleted, Lyon strengthened. Sonia Bompastor could call upon quality at the level of Ada Hegerberg and Sara Dabritz and they combined for what looked to be the winning goal in the 110th minute. But then, deep into stoppage time, the ball broke to Lauren James and Chelsea dragged themselves into European folklore.
