Clement Grenier's audacious volley and a close-range strike from Lisandro Lopez appeared to have given Lyon the victory, but late goals from Alvaro Morata and Casemiro earned the La Liga side a share of the spoils.
The visitors lined up without Napoli-bound striker Gonzalo Higuain, although Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo started alongside other first-team regulars such as Pepe and former Lyon forward Karim Benzema.
However, it was the hosts who started the brightest and they took the lead in the 20th minute through Grenier. The France international midfielder converted a perfect right-wing cross from the edge of the area with an outrageous flick that Diego Lopez could only stand and watch.
The game was fairly even after the opener and it took until just after the hour mark for the next goal to arrive. A neat Lyon move was finished off by Lopez, who timed his run into the penalty area perfectly and placed his shot into the top corner.
Real were then gifted a way back into the game 12 minutes from time when Denis Cheryshev was brought down in the penalty area by Miguel Lopes. Morata stepped up to take the spot kick and confidently stroked the ball into the net to halve the deficit.
And Carlo Ancelotti's side got their equaliser six minutes later as Casemiro rose above his marker to head into an open net after Anthony Lopes had failed to claim a corner from the right-hand side.
