Erin Cuthbert has long been deemed an all-rounder, a player who can fill in anywhere. In three swift moves she showed every side of her game to create the moment of magic that saw Chelsea beat Lyon in the first leg of their quarter-final tie.
Cuthbert had won the ball in midfield and was racing towards goal, followed closely by Ellie Carpenter who tried to wrestle her off the ball. Cuthbert shrugged her off, then instinctively nutmegged the on-coming Damaris Egurrola as she continued to drive forward. Approaching the box, Cuthbert feigned to shoot before playing a no-look pass into the path of Guro Reiten. The winger, first time, hit a curling shot into the far corner of the net.
First it was tenacious, then it was audacious and then it was sublime. It was everything that typifies Cuthbert and this Chelsea team.
They have not always been at their best this season. They suffered a stinging defeat in the Continental Cup final against rivals Arsenal in a performance that boss Emma Hayes called unacceptable. But Chelsea always find a way to respond.
When the Blues were beaten by Manchester City in last year’s League Cup final, they went the rest of the season undefeated, winning the WSL and the FA Cup. They have won four games in a row since that loss against Arsenal - including a top-of-the-table clash against Manchester United and this first leg against the European champions.
The tie is far from over and Chelsea will still have to perform at Stamford Bridge next week. But this was a performance that signified they can compete and beat the best of Europe.
There is no doubt Chelsea have a point to prove in this competition after collapsing in their final group game fixture last season to crash out earlier than expected.
Hayes worked under Lyon boss Sonia Bompastor at Washington Spirit in 2011 and got the better of her counterpart here.
Lyon were wasteful in attack and after missing a glorious chance to open the scoring, with Eugenie Le Sommer missing the target 1v1 with Ann-Katrin Berger, Chelsea suddenly came to life.
It was a stoppage in-play that allowed Hayes to call her players into a huddle. The Chelsea boss could be seen telling her team not to sit off Lyon and to press higher up the pitch.
That message clearly resonated and within a few minutes Chelsea were ahead as Cuthbert’s skill set up Reiten to curl in. Chelsea nearly doubled their lead minutes later when James cut-in from the right before firing a shot against the far post.
Amongst Chelsea’s first half dominance came the blow of losing Millie Bright to an injury just before half-time. The defender, who seemed to be holding her knee, tried to continue but was clearly in discomfort and looked downbeat as she hobbled down the tunnel. Bright is key for both club and country and with the World Cup just four months away, it will be hoped any injury is not serious.
Lyon had made three subs by the 55th minute as they struggled to breakdown Chelsea’s defence.
Two passages of play summed up how the Blues got the better of the French champions. First, Sara Dabritz and Selma Bacha tried to knock James off the ball. They failed miserably, as the Chelsea forward brushed both players away with ease. Minutes later Cuthbert caught Wendie Renard with a late challenge and gave the defender a pat on the shoulder after receiving a yellow card. Renard was not amused and looked as if to say, “why did you do that?” The answer was in her response. Lyon were rattled and frustrated.
While Chelsea were managing the game perfectly, they were nearly the constructs of their own downfall when Magda Eriksson played a horror pass straight into the path of Bacha. The full-back laid the ball off to Delphine Cascarino but her shot was pushed on to the post by the fingertips of Ann-Katrin Berger.
Chelsea then had a huge chance to double their lead when James played Sam Kerr through on goal but the forward could only fire over.
This is a big win in a big week for Chelsea, who face Manchester City in the WSL on Sunday. The magnitude of this win can be illustrated by the fact Lyon had not lost the first leg of a European knockout game since 2007. They have now. The job is only half done, but Chelsea have one foot in the Champions League semi-finals.