OL Lyonnes v Chelsea: a European night with the feel of a reunion

On Wednesday 30 September, OL Lyonnes will host Chelsea at the Groupama Stadium in what promises to be a cracking fixture in the UEFA Women’s Champions League, featuring the return of some legendary players.

For their first home match of the season in the Women’s Champions League, OL Lyonnes welcome a Chelsea side with a Lyon flavour: Sonia Bompastor on the bench, Camille Abily alongside her, and Lucy Bronze, Kadeisha Buchanan, Ellie Carpenter and Melvine Malard potentially in the starting line-up. All of them are European champions who have made history at the club and who will be reunited with long-standing teammates.

First and foremost a player: a left-back for the French national team with 156 caps, she played for Lyon and won the Women’s Champions League in 2011, before adding a second European title in 2012 and several French league titles. Moving on to a coaching career, she managed the Academy for nearly eight years before taking charge of the first team in 2021. She immediately built up an impressive list of honours, including the 2022 Champions League, French league titles and a French Cup. This latest European triumph made her the first woman to win the competition both as a player and as a manager. Since then, she has joined Chelsea, whom she led to a treble in her very first season in charge.

Alongside the head coach, Camille Abily is another key figure at the club. An elegant playmaker with exceptional vision, the midfielder has made 183 appearances for the French national team and boasts one of the most impressive honours lists in women’s football. Playing for Lyon, she won five Champions League titles, as well as numerous French league titles and several French Cups. The number 10, and the club’s fifth-most-capped player, was the heart of the world’s best team’s play for years. After her playing career, she chose to step away from the centre of the pitch to take her place on the bench and is now Sonia Bompastor’s assistant at Chelsea. Two Lyon players who won everything at Lyon, now back together on opposing benches.

Born in Réunion, Melvine Malard was spotted at the age of 14 by Sonia Bompastor, who was then in charge of youth recruitment in Lyon. She progressed through every stage of the Academy before signing her first professional contract in 2017. From 2017 to 2024, she developed her game and established herself in one of Europe’s top teams. The highlight of her career so far was the 2022 Champions League. Having earned a place in the French national team, she went on to further her development in England, where she spent two seasons at Manchester United, before joining Chelsea this summer. In the running for the 2026 Ballon d’Or following a superb season, Melvine Malard returns to the Groupama Stadium on Wednesday.

Having arrived from Portland in the summer of 2020 at the age of just 20, the Australian became the first player from her country to win the Champions League. Two years later, she lifted a second European trophy in the 2022 final in Turin against Barcelona, an evening marred by a cruciate ligament injury to her knee. Returning to action in early 2023, she once again established herself as one of Lyon’s best players. In five seasons, she won nine trophies with the club before joining Chelsea in June 2025.

Having joined in January 2017, the Canadian defender has been part of the club’s most glorious era. Between 2017 and 2022, she won five Champions League titles and five French league titles – a level of consistency at the top that commands respect. Her latest European triumph with OL Lyonnes, in the 2022 final against Barcelona, came shortly before her move to London, where she signed for Chelsea.

During her time with OL Lyonnes from 2017 to 2020, Lucy Bronze won every title there was to win. She lifted the Champions League trophy in each of her three seasons—a rare feat. Named UEFA Women’s Player of the Year for 2018–2019—the first defender to receive this honor—she reached the pinnacle of her career while playing for Lyon. Notably, she finished second in the 2019 Ballon d’Or after another exceptional season with OL Lyonnes. Her time with the club remains one of the most brilliant of the decade.

See you at the Lyonnes’ home arena on Wednesday, September 30, for this exceptional first European matchup!