'One of the best in the world' - Lucy Bronze relishing Chelsea's Champions League test against Lyon

Chelsea travel to Lyon looking to maintain a perfect start to their Women's Champions League campaign. While the Blues opened with a workmanlike 1-0 win over Austria Wien, their French hosts set the early pace at the summit after dismantling Servette 8-0. For Bronze, the trip across the Channel represents the ideal litmus test against one of Europe's pre-eminent forces.

The experienced England right-back is relishing the prospect of reuniting with her former club while insisting the Blues remain fully focused on the task at hand. Speaking to the club's official website, Bronze said: "It's so exciting. My time at Lyon was amazing. All the girls, Ellie [Carpenter], Keish [Kadeisha Buchanan] and Melvine [Malard] had a great time at Lyon, and we all actually played there together as well."

Assessing the challenge of facing the perennial continental powerhouses, the 34-year-old added: "We're excited to go there, to be focused on the Champions League, and we know what pedigree Lyon have in the Champions League. To go toe-to-toe with another team who's one of the best in the world and test ourselves and prove ourselves is going to be exciting."

According to the Opta supercomputer, Lyon are clear favourites with a 65.2 per cent win probability compared to Chelsea's 15.9 per cent, but Bronze is not shying away from the daunting test ahead.

The 34-year-old, who won three consecutive Champions League titles during her decorated spell with Lyon, is instead embracing the magnitude of the occasion. Addressing the scale of the task, Bronze added: "It's great. I love playing in the big games, the challenging games. That's what the best players in the world want to do. They want to play for the best teams, to be able to compete for trophies, to compete in the league. That's exactly what we're doing this season. We're pushing ourselves in every single game to be able to compete and win every trophy we can."

Lyon have won just two of their four Champions League encounters against Chelsea, a modest return by the French giants' formidable standards. The Blues, by contrast, travel with plenty of pedigree on the road, having suffered only one defeat in their 15 away matches in the competition's group or league stages. Maintaining that exceptional sequence in France will demand immense resilience as Sonia Bompastor's side look to cement their continental credentials.