Chelsea hammer Ajax, Lyon beat Benfica

Paris: Chelseahammered last eight debutants Ajax 3 0 while Lyon needed two second half goals to claim a 2 1 win over Benfica in the opening first leg...

Paris: Chelsea hammered last-eight debutants Ajax 3-0 while Lyon needed two second-half goals to claim a 2-1 win over Benfica in the opening first-leg quarter-final clashes of the women's Champions League on Tuesday.

Lauren James opened the scoring for Chelsea in their away win over Ajax, the England forward calmly rounding the goalkeeper to slot into the empty net.

Germany midfielder Sjoeke Nusken then notched up a goal in each half as Chelsea went on to dominate the match and put themselves in compete control before the second leg at Stamford Bridge next week.

Chelsea manager Emma Hayes called her team's performance "really professional".

"We defended solidly, as we have been doing. And then once we started to attack the spaces down the sides, we got good opportunities: four crosses, two goals in the first half.