Emma Hayes and Beth England said Chelsea showed that the five-times Champions League winners Lyon are human after Erin Cuthbert’s second-half volley left their Champions League tie wide open, with Hayes adding she was disappointed not to leave with a victory.

“I’m gutted, I can’t lie,” said the Chelsea manager. “We’re in the tie but we should have won the game. I really do respect Lyon and their achievements but I think we showed today that they are human.”

England, who set up Cuthbert’s goal, said: “Look they’re humans, we’re all humans, they’re not unbeatable and as long we stick to our plan we know we can exploit their weaknesses – every team has them.”

Hayes had warned in midweek that Chelsea “always score an away goal” but at half-time, a second own goal in a week from Magda Eriksson and an Amandine Henry header looked to have ended their hopes of an upset. However, Cuthbert’s stunning volley ensured her side welcome the Champions League holders to Kingsmeadow on Sunday with a vital away goal on the board.

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With Fran Kirby having seen her tame penalty saved by Sarah Bouhaddi on the stroke of half-time and the French goalkeeper smartly blocking from Maren Mjelde at close range, it seemed the visitors had let one chance too many slip through their fingers.

Hayes spoke of “fighting fires” against Paris Saint-Germain and at the Groupama Stadium that quickly became her task. Sophie Ingle, Ji So-yun, Karen Carney and Cuthbert all took turns dropping deep to help protect the back four against “the Harlem Globetrotters of women’s football”. And, initially at least, the dam held.

But the warning signs where there. After only three minutes Delphine Cascarino flew past Joanna Andersson on the right but her sweeping cross was a just too far ahead of Eugénie Le Sommer.

Perhaps hoping to unsettle Ann-Katrin Berger, who spilled the ball across the line in the second leg of Chelsea’s quarter-final win against PSG, Jess Fishlock had a go from distance but did not muster enough power to trouble the German.

Chelsea’s first chance came just inside 10 minutes when Cuthbert shrugged off Fishlock and looked to free Kirby but her pass was intercepted.

With Hayes pacing on the edge of her box Lyon upped the pressure. Lucy Bronze raced clear of Carney and into the box. Without looking up, she squared to Ada Hegerberg but the Ballon d’Or winner’s first-time shot from close range was brilliantly kept out by a diving Berger.

It was just shy of the half-hour mark when the dam broke, and how cruelly it did. Cascarino raced into the box and her shot was lifted over Berger by the heel of Eriksson, whose 91st-minute own goal last weekend sent Chelsea to defeat in the FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City.

With Le Sommer throwing her arms up and down to encourage the crowd after getting the better of Millie Bright and winning a corner, there was no let-up. A Dzsenifer Marozsán corner got a sliver of a touch from the leaping Henry before flying past Berger to bounce on the line and in for 2-0. On the stroke of half-time Chelsea again had a golden chance to score a desperately needed away goal when they were awarded a penalty after Le Sommer tripped Bachmann just inside the box on the left. Kirby stepped up – and stuttered her run – but her tame shot was palmed away by Bouhaddi.

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Two minutes after the restart and again the Blues should have scored, Mjelde found herself on the end of a long pass before beating both Selma Bacha and Wendie Renard but – again – Bouhaddi made the save, this time with her feet.

From there it was all Lyon. Hegerberg fired wide before Berger dealt well with efforts from Le Sommer and Renard. But the introduction of England had an immediate impact. “I think Renard needed a bit more pressure,” she said. Back to goal, she headed the ball powerfully down at the feet of Cuthbert, who fired delightfully past Bouhaddi. “A lot of it can be luck sometimes and I knew if we kept fighting like we did we could get a better result,” said England.

“It’s who we are: we get back, get up, be brave,” said Hayes. “Leave with no regret, I don’t want any regret and I know what our team is capable of. The rest of the world saw that today. I don’t know too many teams that have come here and played as well as we have.”