Chelsea Women v Lyon, UWCL second leg quarterfinal preview
In southeast France last week, James was a magician with the ball at her feet. Look for more of the same from a player that is slowly cementing herself as one of the best players in world football.
Bright should help alive some pressure off the CFC backline, supporting Kadeisha Buchanan with Hegerberg back into the fold. Now that the Norwegian striker is back into the Lyon team, those individual errors playing out the back cannot happen. Hegerberg will punish her opponent with any chance she receives.
Other than Hegerberg, the French international Cascarino is going to be a hand full just like in the first leg. The 26-year-old forward collected the most successful take-ons, and shot-creating actions for the French side in just 68 minutes on the pitch during the first half of the tie.
Lyon has only not made it past the quarterfinals of the UWCL in one of the past seven seasons. In those six campaigns that the French side reached the semifinals, they ended up winning the European crown in each instance.
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If the English outfit can beat the Europe’s biggest football powerhouse over two legs of one of the most prestigious competitions in the world, that could arguably be the biggest accomplishment of the Hayes era to date. Winning consecutive trophies is something to be proud of, but if the west London side is able to hang on at the Bridge against the eight-time Champions League winners, it would be a historic moment for the entire club.