Time to wrap this blog up, I think, but please do read Suzanne Wrack’s report and chat below the line if you want. Night!
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“Chelsea,” says Zach Neeley. “You’ve clawed your way into the semis, hanging on for dead life for 120 minutes then penalties. Your reward? Barcelona!”
I’m still not sure about the penalty decision that got Chelsea back into the tie, but maybe that’s one for the cold light of day. My first impression was that Lauren James had tripped herself.
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The Lyon players are all consoling Lindsey Horan. She took a pretty good penalty, to be honest, but Ann-Katrin Berger made an exceptional save.
Horan smashed her penalty, but Berger went the right way, to her right, and made an outstanding save. I have no idea how Chelsea got through – but they have, and they’ll play Barcelona in the semi-finals. What a night!
CHELSEA ARE INTO THE SEMI-FINALS!
Horan misses and Chelsea are through!
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Carter… scores: Chelsea 4-3 Lyon A fantastic penalty, lifted into the top corner. Horan must score…
Dabritz scores! Chelsea 3-3 Lyon It’s sudden death.
James’s penalty is saved by Endler! Chelsea 3-2 Lyon
This is ridiculous.
Berger saves from Renard! Chelsea 3-2 Lyon Chelsea have the advantage!
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Fleming scores! Chelsea 3-2 Lyon It wasn’t the firmest penalty, but she sent Endler the wrong way.
Hegerberg scores: Chelsea 2-2 Lyon Emphatically done, and she whips up the Lyon fans on her way back.
Kerr scores! Chelsea 2-1 Lyon
A superb penalty, and here comes Ada Hegerberg.
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Penalties: Chelsea 1-1 Lyon (Marozan)
Marozsan finds the bottom corner!
Penalties: Chelsea 1-0 Lyon (Mjelde scores)
Mjelde scores again!
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Full time: Chelsea 1-2 Lyon (agg: 2-2)
That was the last kick of the game, and the tie is going to penalties. My word.
What a superb penalty, under the ultimate pressure. She lifted it serenely into the top-left penalty, and Endler had no chance.
GOAL! Chelsea 1-2 Lyon; agg 2-2 (Mjelde 120+8 min)
By virtue of a penalty, we’re going to penalties!
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The Lyon players keep delaying the penalty. This isn’t ideal for Maren Mjelde. Emma Hayes is whipping the home fans up.
It’ll be Maren Mjelde vs Christiane Endler.
PENALTY TO CHELSEA!
120+5 min This is unreal!
I’m still not sure it’s a foul, but the co-commentator Lucy Ward – whose judgement I’d trust more than mine – is certain it is a penalty.
The referee is going to the monitor! Oh my days
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120+2 min: VAR check It was Becho who made the challenge, and having seen a replay I don’t think it was a foul. The fans are chanting “VAR!”, and it’s still being checked…
120+2 min James goes down in the area but the referee isn’t having it!
120+1 min Marozsan is booked for a cynical foul.
120 min Chelsea can't keep the ball. There will be two minutes of added hope.
118 min Ingle is booked for flattening Horan.
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117 min Chelsea just can’t get any momentum. This has been a desperate week for them, with – as things stand – two very damaging 2-0 defeats.
114 min Chelsea look done here. I don’t know whether it’s a consequence of the injuries but Lyon – who have made six substitutions to Chelsea’s three I think – have looked much fresher in extra-time.
112 min: Chelsea substitution Jessie Fleming is on for Erin Cuthbert.
Hegerberg pulled out to the right and flipped a routine cross into the middle. Eriksson, off balance, couldn’t clear and it came to Dabritz beyond the far post. She took a touch and drove a left-foot shot that beat the wrongfooted Berger and rolled into the far corner. Urgh, that wasn’t a great goal for Chelsea to concede. They have looked so tired in extra-time.
GOAL! Chelsea 0-2 Lyon (agg: 1-2; Dabritz 110)
Lyon are in front!
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108 min A cross from the excellent Carpenter hits Eriksson’s arm just outside the area on the Lyon right. Dabritz will take the free-kick… and waft it straight out of play.
108 min If Chelsea do go out tonight, they’ll wonder for many a month about Sam Kerr’s chance in the first half of normal time. That would have put them 2-0 up on aggregate and, if not out of sight, then at least in a pretty ideal position.
107 min “Still sitting here wondering why it was Reiten and not the clearly gassed James or Kerr that was hooked at the end of extra time,” says Justin Madson. “Any insight?”
None, because Emma Hayes won’t answer my WhatsApp messages. I assume it’s as simple as the other two being a greater goal threat (despite Reiten scoring Chelsea’s only goal in this tie).
106 min Peep peep!
A double change for Lyon Perle Morroni and Dzsenifer Marozsan for Bacha and Van de Donk.
“Cascarino is always being asked if she is related to former Irish player Tony Cascarino,” says Nora Mulcahy, “but it seems she has no Irish connections.”
Yeah I wondered about that at first, given his spell in France, but as you say they are unrelated.
Half time in extra time: Chelsea 0-1 Lyon (agg: 1-1)
Penalties are a comin.
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105 min With a handful of exceptions – Bacha is one – the players on both sides who started the game look shattered.
103 min Chelsea have offered nothing going forward for the last half an hour or so. They’re still fairly comfortable defensively, but Lyon are certainly the likelier winners before penalties.
102 min A Lyon corner is headed away as far as Bacha, who shoots off target.
100 min Buchanan is okay to continue. Both teams look ready for the perceived lottery of penalties.
99 min Buchanan is in a lot of pain after a challenge from Van de Donk. I think her knee got stuck in the turf as she fell.
97 min: Lyon substitution Malard on, Cascarino off.
97 min Cuthbert shoots over from distance. Both teams look really tired now.
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95 min Who else can smell penalties?
94 min Bacha’s long free-kick is headed straight by Berger by Becho. Not much of a chance.
93 min Horan shoots wide from distance.
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92 min “This is glorious,” writes Daniel Harris, “and loosely connected to your Fiv- Footb all Daily.”
This lady has just spent 2 mins absolutely eviscerating the Conservatives on their record on EVERYTHING 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 #BBCQT
— Seb Ate (@Mrbaiti) March 30, 2023
“ I’m staggered that you think you’re succeeding…
Watch and listen! pic.twitter.com/XFHwLdbM7H
91 min Peep peep! Lyon begin extra time. Chelsea have brought on Johanna Rytting Kaneryd for Guro Reiten.
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Full time: Chelsea 0-1 Lyon (agg: 1-1)
It’s going to extra-time, and deep down we always knew it would be like this.
90+8 min It’s headed away at the far post, and that, my friends, is that.
90+7 min Becho’s cross is put bebind by Eriksson. Dabritz will take the corner…
90+5 min Cascarino gets away down the left but her cross is well cut out by Eriksson at the near post. Chelsea look really tired here, and they don’t have that many options on the bench because of their injury list.
90+4 min Bacha’s corner is punched away well by Berger. It’s Chelsea who need extra time now, not Lyon.
90+3 min Carter heads Bacha’s cross behind for a corner. It’s all Lyon now.
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90+2 min Lyon probably look the likelier winners at this stage, though there isn’t a huge amount in it.
90+1 min Horan’s driven cross is headed over by Hegerberg, who stayed in the air for an age but was put under just enough pressure by Buchanan.
90 min There will be seven minutes.
89 min Chelsea appeal for a penalty when Reiten’s cross hits a Lyon defender. Nothing doing.
88 min Becho escapes Carter, who has had an unusually poor game, but her cross is cleared by Eriksson.
86 min This is great stuff: the perennial champions of Europe vs the would-be champions, with the tie right on the edge.
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85 min Chelsea take a quick free-kick to the unmarked James on the left. She curls a dangerous cross that is just too far in front of Kerr at the far post.
85 min Reiten’s free-kick is headed away as far as Mjelde, whose volley from the edge of the area is blocked.
84 min James marauds down the left and is unsentimentally taken out by Van de Donk. She’s booked.
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83 min Mjelde’s corner is headed away.
82 min Reiten’s cross deflects behind for a corner. A goal now for either side would be mahoosive.
81 min James comes this close to releasing the unmarked Reiten on the left side of the area. This is so tense now.
79 min On reflection, maybe “out of nothing” wasn’t quite the right phrase, but that goal certainly wasn’t in the post. Lyon were far more threatening in the first half than the second, until Vanessa Gilles decided to show the attacker how it's done.
Horan picked up a loose ball on the right and clipped a low, bouncing cross towards the near post. Gilles, who had been up for a set-piece, got in front of Eriksson and pinged the ball through Berger at the near post. It hit Berger in the chest and ricocheted into the net.
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GOAL! Chelsea 0-1 Lyon (agg: 1-1; Gilles 77)
Out of nothing, Lyon are level in the tie!
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76 min Bacha’s corner is cut out well by Cuthbert, who has put a helluva shift in tonight. Chelsea are 20 or so minutes away (there will be a lot of added time) from the semi-finals.
75 min The corner is cleared at the near post. Lyon break through Cascarino, whose cross is headed away by Buchanan. The ball runs to Bacha, whose long-range shot deflects behind for a corner.
74 min Reiten wins a corner for Chelsea, who are managing this second half expertly.
73 min A substitution apiece.
Chelsea Maren Mjelde for Perisset
Lyon Vicki Becho for Majri.
71 min Now Eve Perisset is down. This isn’t good for Chelsea – or for Lyon, as it’s becoming a stop-start second half.
70 min Bacha plays a sharp pass into the area for Van de Donk. She has a bit of space, not much, but Buchanan gets out quickly to make an excellent challenge.
70 min: Chelsea substitution Leupolz is still being treated. She’s sitting up and doesn’t seem unduly distressed, but it’s been almost five minutes. Finaally she walks off to be replaced by Sophie Ingle.
69 min Lyon had three big chances in the first five minutes or so, but since then Chelsea have defended jolly well.
68 min Leupolz is still being treated. Sophie Ingle is getting ready to come on.
66 min Ah, replays show it was an accidental arm to the face by Van de Donk as they jumped for a bouncing ball. Nothing to see here, apart from the blood.
65 min Leupolz is down holding her face. I’m not sure what happened but she had blood streaming from her nose and she’s shouting at the referee.
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63 min Gilles, just past the halfway line, drives a long cross into the Chelsea area. Hegerberg pulls away from Buchanan at the far post, 12 yards out, but there’s not much pace on the ball and she can only head it wide of the far post. A quarter chance at best.
61 min Emma Hayes will be thrilled with the second half so far; it’s been far quieter than the first.
57 min Cascarino beats Carter, gets to the byline and stands up a dangerous cross that is headed away well by Buchanan at the far post, with Hegerberg waiting behind her.
56 min: Lyon substitution Sara Dabritz replaces Egurrola.
53 min Eriksson dithers on the edge of the area and is this close to being robbed by Van de Donk. That was a really nervous moment, though Eriksson did recover well to get between Van de Donk and the ball and win a free-kick.
52 min It’s been a surprisingly quiet start to the second half.
50 min Reiten drives a long crossfield pass to Kerr, who waits for the ball to bounce hits an ambitious effort from the right side of the area. As Lucy Ward says on Dazn, we’ve seen Kerr score from such absurd angles in the past, but this time it flies over the bar.
49 min Reiten, whose goal in Lyon continues to separate the teams, shoots straight at Endler from 25 yards.
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48 min Perisset swings the resulting free-kick deep, and a Lyon defender heads away. I’ll be honest, if I had my time again I wouldn’t bother with this entry.
47 min James is fouled clumsily by Egurolla on the left wing.
46 min Peep peep!
Ada Hegerberg is coming on for Lyon. She has replaced Signe Bruun.
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Sign up for the Moving the Goalposts!
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D) This is a World Cup year, and the WCL is as good as ever and the 2022-23 WSL is turning into one of the great title races.
Half time: Chelsea 0-0 Lyon (agg: 1-0)
And after all that, it’s still 0-0. Both teams had terrific chances, but Signe Bruun wafted over and Sam Kerr was denied by the face of Christiane Endler. It’s been a high-quality game that has seesawed one way and then the other. See you in 15 minutes for the second half.
45 min Two minutes of added time.
44 min Not so impressive from James, a mishit daisy-cutter from 25 yards that dribbles wide.
43 min James absolutely flattens Renard, fairly, during a 50/50 challenge. Lauren James could become an incredible player; that’s Wendie Renard she’s just put on the canvas.
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41 min Bacha’s free-kick from the right is well claimed by Berger. She started nervously, spilling an early shot from Cascarino, but since then she’s been immaculate.
39 min Carpenter’s very deep is volleyed wildly back across the area by Cascarino. It was a really difficult chance, in fairness. Carpenter’s crosses have been Lyon’s biggest threat tonight.
38 min Gilles does brilliantly to slide in and beat Kerr to James’s fierce low cross from the right.
35 min Lyon haven’t a clue how to defend against James once she gets up a head of steam. Van de Donk fouls her 40 yards from goal, but Chelsea make a mess of the free-kick.
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32 min Horan curls wide from the edge of the area. This has been a game of subtle momentum shifts, and now it’s Lyon who are having a good spell.
31 min “I never understand the last line, so I always have to google,” says Joe Pearson. “It’s a lyric from ‘Jumbo’ by Underworld: ‘My thumb’s on a Tetris keyring.’”
Which I’ve never heard, though I am, or at least was, freakishly good at Tetris. Underworld are one of those bands I forgot to properly get into, despite the perfect gateway drug of Trainspotting. Mind you, one of life’s great pleasures is discovering old music, so it’s not too late.
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29 min A lovely move from Lyon ends with Bruun hitting a chest-volley straight at Berger from about 12 yards. That was a pretty decent chance.
28 min Horan has stayed down after an aerial challenge with Leupolz. She looks in a fair bit of distress, though she’s on her feet now.
27 min Kerr’s movement is starting to trouble Lyon. She pulls off down the left, easing Gilles (possibly illegally) away from a long ball forward, then plays a sharp square pass to pick out Leupolz on the edge of the area. Leupolz takes a touch and then shoots over.
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25 min Endler charges from her area and just beats Kerr to a long ball forward. This is a good spell for Chelsea.
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24 min “Enjoying the match so far, but what put you in an Underworld mood earlier today?” says Joe Pearson. “Never heard them before today.”
Is that the last line on Football Daily? The desk editors usually add that – I just wrote the main bit of nonsense.
23 min: Fine save from Endler! Perisset takes a short corner on the left to James. She turns, beats two defenders with laughable else and blooters a rising drive from a tight angle that is acrobatically tipped over by Endler. Wonderful play from James.
20 min Bacha’s corner is met by Renard, whose header is blocked in the six-yard box. That leads to a second corner, which is headed wide under pressure by Gilles.
Chelsea are living dangerously here.
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19 min Carpenter’s deep cross is headed back across goal by Horan towards Van de Donk, who has one shot blocked and then another. Lyon are getting so much joy down their right.
17 min In fact that Kerr shot hits Endler in the face, not the neck.
15 min: Huge chance for Kerr! Chelsea should be in front. James charges thrillingly at the Lyon defence and slips a perfect through pass towards Kerr, whose shot from the edge of the area hits the outrushing Endler in the neck. It was a brave save but Kerr should have done better.
14 min Carpenter’s deep cross is headed whence it came by Horan, who couldn’t quite get round the ball to direct the header towards goal.
13 min Chelsea have restored a bit of order after that poor start, though Lyon do still look dangerous, Majri and Cascarino in particular.
12 min Carter’s long throw leads to a game of head tennis before Kerr shins a volley off target. It was a really difficult chance on the half turn.
11 min Perisset’s corner is headed away at the near post.
10 min Reiten breaks down the left and wins a corner for Chelsea. I’m still trying to work out Chelsea’s shape. Perisset and Charles are on the right, Carter and Reiten on the left, but I’m not sure about the balance.
8 min Bacha’s long free-kick is claimed with authority by Berger. Chelsea needed a moment like that just to calm everything down.
8 min Cuthbert drives a long crossfield pass towards Kerr, who can’t control it on the edge of the Lyon area.
7 min This has been a really worrying start for Chelsea, who could already be two or three down.
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5 min Another chance for Lyon, with Bruun volleying Carpenter’s cross over the bar! That was a much tougher chance, though once again Lyon got in down the Chelsea left.
4 min: An even bigger chance for Lyon! Cascarino’s lobbed cross is cleared poorly by Eriksson, straight to Bruun, but she leathers over the bar from 15 yards! What a chance!
3 min: Big chance for Lyon! Almost a nightmare start for Chelsea. Majri plays in the overlapping Cascarino, whose shot is spilled by Berger. That leads to an almighty scramble on the six-yard line before Chelsea eventually get the ball away.
2 min Some decent early possession for Chelsea down the Lyon left, though nothing particularly penetrative.
1 min Peep peep! Here we go, folks.
Wolfsburg held on to beat PSG 2-1 on aggregate, so they will face Arsenal in the semi-finals.
First up, a reminder of the teams
Chelsea (possible 3-4-3) Berger; Carter, Buchanan, Eriksson; Perisset, Leupolz, Cuthbert, Charles; James, Kerr, Reiten.
Substitutes: Musovic, Orman, Ingle, Fleming, Mjelde, Rytting Kaneryd, Abdullina, Cankovic.
Lyon (possible 4-1-3-2) Endler; Carpenter, Gilles, Renard, Bacha, Egurrola; Horan, Van de Donk, Majri; Cascarino, Bruun.
Substitutes: Belhadj, Bosse, Morroni, Dabritz, Le Sommer, Marozsan, Hegerberg, Sombath, Cayman, Benyahia, Becho, Malard.
Apologies, we’ve been having all kinds of technical problems. But it looks like they’ve been resolved in the nick of time. Let’s watch some football!
Pre-match entertainment
Team news: Bright ruled out
Bad news for Chelsea: Millie Bright, who injured her knee in last week’s first leg, hasn’t recovered in time for tonight’s game. But there’s much better news for Lyon: Ada Hegerberg is fit enough to start on the bench.
Your Chelsea XI! 👊#UWCL pic.twitter.com/o7OMlSqGcK
— Chelsea FC Women (@ChelseaFCW) March 30, 2023
Lyon Endler; Carpenter, Gilles, Renard, Bacha, Egurrola, Horan, Van de Donk, Majri, D Cascarino, Bruun.
Substitutes: Belhadj, Bosse, Morroni, Dabritz, Le Sommer, Marozsan, Hegerberg, Sombath, Cayman, Benyahia, Becho, Malard.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to live coverage of a huge European night at Stamford Bridge: Chelsea v Lyon, for the right to play Wolfsburg or Paris Saint-Germain Barcelona (why do I keep getting that wrong?) in the semi-finals. Guro Reiten’s goal gave Chelsea a superb 1-0 win in the away leg, so they will start tonight as marginal favourites. But Lyon are Lyon are Lyon: they’ve won this tournament in six of the last seven seasons. Don’t expect them to go quietly.
Kick off 8pm.
Here come the Blues! 🔵#UWCL pic.twitter.com/cQtKTnE9wt
— Chelsea FC Women (@ChelseaFCW) March 30, 2023
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