Manchester City may not have found a way past the formidable Wendie Renard at the heart of Lyon’s defence but they denied the reigning European champions an away goal and have everything to play for in France on 29 April.
The route through the second leg at the Stade de Lyon and on to the Women’s Champions League final in Kiev in May still looks hazardous but Nick Cushing’s side can be cautiously optimistic.
Following a slightly shaky start here, they grew into the tie, pressing assiduously and doing enough to suggest they might yet negotiate the tactical tripwires next week.
Well before the end Reynald Pedros’s supposed sophisticates had lost all semblance of midfield passing rhythm, turned direct and looked reliant on dead balls for scoring opportunities.
“I’m definitely happy,” Cushing said. “It’s definitely a positive result. Not letting Lyon score an away goal was so important and we defended really well. We denied them any kind of momentum. We go to France as underdogs. No one expects us to win and that can help.”
A City starting XI featuring 10 members of Phil Neville’s England squad and, in Jennifer Beattie, a Scotland centre-half, were up against opponents showcasing some of Europe’s foremost talents.
Frequently driven forward by the former City right-back Lucy Bronze’s scouring advances, Lyon began in irrepressible fashion. As shots from Shanice van de Sanden, Ada Hegerberg, Eugénie Le Sommer and Dzsenifer Marozsán were blocked, Cushing’s players could barely escape their own half.
With City initially unable to string two passes together, it was easy to see why Pedros’s richly gifted team are regarded Europe’s best. Yet for all Lyon’s abundant pressure and possession, the home goalkeeper, Karen Bardsley, was rarely stretched to the limit.
If the visitors’ often disappointing final balls offered City hope, they needed to make the most of their own strictly rationed chances, the moments when Renard could be dodged. They almost scored when Nikita Parris’s persistence in harrying Bronze into an error resulted in the dispossessed right-back watching in horror as she cued up Melissa Lawley for a shot which Sarah Bouhaddi did well to divert for a corner.
Thus emboldened, City began pressing higher up the pitch and Jill Scott made things happen in midfield. Suddenly Lyon’s hitherto unruffled Amandine Henry had her work cut out in the holding role and must have been relieved when the increasingly influential Scott was warned by the referee for fouling her.
Yet if Scott needed to watch her step so, too, did Bronze, after going in hard on Parris and being shown a yellow card. “Off, off,” demanded the defender’s former public.
Although Le Sommer looked inches from scoring as half-time approached, frustration was mounting among a Lyon side struggling to unlock their full attacking repertoire in the face of the increasingly assured Beattie and Steph Houghton.
At full-back Abbie McManus and Demi Stokes ensured Lyon did not really hurt their team down the flanks while Izzy Christiansen proved midfield intelligence personified.
Bouhaddi needed to keep Christiansen’s shot out but generally chances from open play were becoming as elusive as the sun on this , sometimes rainy,Manchester Sunday. Outmanoeuvred in midfield, Lyon began seeking to win as many set pieces as possible.
Parris missed an inviting chance to score from a Christiansen corner but, equally, City had the impressive Bardsley – who made some important interventions – to thank for a fine late save from Henry’s header.
“I’m not overly disappointed,” said Pedros. “ City’s midfield is very strong. Everything still hangs in the balance.”
