Chelsea are in Women’s Champions League action at the Groupama Stadium, where they meet Lyon in a league-phase fixture, and the occasion carries particular weight for Sonia Bompastor. It is the Chelsea manager’s first return to face her former club since she took over in the summer of 2024, and the trip has brought a string of friendly reunions for her in Lyon.
Bompastor’s connection to Lyon runs deep. She won this competition with the French side both as a player and as a manager, and she appears to remain a popular figure at the club among those gathered for the match.
The setting, though, is short on noise. The Groupama Stadium holds around 60,000 and hosted the 2019 Women’s World Cup final, but the blocks behind both goals are empty and the supporters on the far side are mostly occupying the lower tier. Attendances in this competition are usually stronger in the knockout stages, and the league phase has not yet captured the enthusiasm of the locals.
The 2-2 draw between Paris FC and Arsenal earlier in the evening appears to have gone down very well with the Chelsea supporters who have travelled to Lyon.