Barcelona Peg Back Chelsea Before Tv Blackout Delay To Hit Wcl Summit

The spoils were shared astatine Stamford Bridge betwixt Chelsea and their Champions League torturers Barcelona, but it will beryllium Sonia Bompastor’s broadside that will beryllium nan much disappointment of nan two.

It was a battling capacity from nan location squad and Ellie Carpenter’s nonaccomplishment to adhd her 2nd extremity precocious connected from adjacent scope will haunt them, arsenic will nan substitute Catarina Macario’s narrowly offside effort that had some looked apt to springiness nan Blues each 3 points.

It is nary concealed that nan Champions League is Chelsea’s achromatic whale. “We each cognize there’s 1 point missing for us,” Millie Bright told nan Guardian nan preceding week, nan defender connected nan chair for this encounter, pinch Bompastor favouring a centre-back pairing of Naomi Girma and Nathalie Björn.

Barcelona person been their perennial statement poopers, delivering heartbreak successful the last successful 2021 earlier knocking nan London broadside retired successful 3 back-to-back semi finals successful 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25. They person conscionable 1 win, but that hard-fought 1-0 triumph against nan Catalan giants successful Spain was undone successful London, and 1 tie successful 7 games against nan Blaugrana.

At a horrendously acold Stamford Bridge nan opening 15 minutes followed a acquainted narrative, nan visiting squad dominating possession and frustrating an unsettled Chelsea pinch their fierce press. It was nan Blues’ extremity against nan tally of play that triggered a much moreover encounter. The full-back Carpenter, playing successful beforehand of nan right-back Lucy Bronze, collected nan shot from Aggie Beever-Jones conscionable wrong nan Barcelona half and raced towards nan container unchallenged earlier she lashed ferociously past Cata Coll. It was a blistering effort and nan celebrations were wild, Chelsea taking a lead astatine location against Barcelona for nan first clip successful 4 attempts.

Ellie Carpenter lashes nan shot past Cata Coll to put Chelsea ahead. Photograph: Neil Hall/EPA

The Carpenter-Bronze axis connected nan correct was a potent one, arsenic was nan arsenic accelerated operation of Alyssa Thompson and Sandy Baltimore connected nan left. They nullified nan move Barcelona forwards Caroline Graham Hansen and Clàudia Pina, keeping them engaged by helping retired their ain full-backs arsenic they struggled to incorporate nan wide onslaught.

The extremity injected assurance into Bompastor’s broadside and they created nan amended chances of nan half, but a Barcelona area helped cancel retired Carpenter’s stunning strike, nan shot falling kindly for Ewa Pajor, who took a measurement to her near and fired in. It was nan 36th Champions League extremity for nan Poland forward, who was a runner-up 4 times successful nan title while astatine Wolfsburg.

There was an different region soon earlier nan extremity of nan first half, prompting 9 minutes added on, pinch nan unrecorded provender of nan crippled going down disrupting TV sum and VAR. The players tried to enactment lukewarm connected nan transportation until nan action sewage backmost nether way.

The referee stops play earlier a method rumor delayed nan Women’s Champions League necktie for 9 minutes successful nan first half. Photograph: John Walton/PA

Chelsea attempted to return advantage connected nan resumption of nan game, Thompson trying her luck aft a speedy onslaught but she put her effort wide. There was a tense power aft half-time, nan location team’s inability to person their superior number of shots connected target while Barcelona dominated possession a interest arsenic nan timepiece ticked on.

“We request to beryllium businesslike and clinical, create opportunities and large chances,” Bompastor had warned. “Maybe successful immoderate moments of nan crippled we will suffer and we request to beryllium fresh for that, to each beryllium together successful those moments,” she told BBC Two.

It was Carpenter who would effort to alleviate nan Barcelona unit that dominated nan opening 15 minutes of nan 2nd half overmuch successful nan measurement it had nan first, nan erstwhile Lyon subordinate breaking guardant successful a move that mirrored her tally for nan opening extremity but this clip her effort was debased and wide of nan acold post.

This was acold from Barcelona astatine their finest. A staggering 17 players departed successful nan summer, immoderate connected loan, pinch only Laia Aleixandri coming successful for free from Manchester City pursuing nan expiration of her contract. Despite nan effect of their finances being tied to those of nan crisis-ridden men’s team, nan three-time Champions League winners person been rampant, earning a six-point lead astatine nan apical of La Liga pinch 51 goals scored successful 11 games.

There was vexation for Chelsea successful nan 74th minute, celebrations trim short aft Macario’s objective header pinch her first touch aft coming connected successful spot of Beever-Jones deemed offside, nan separator tight connected replays.

There was further agony erstwhile Carpenter put nan shot wide of nan acold station pinch conscionable Coll to hit from adjacent scope connected nan correct aft receiving a backheel walk from Macario successful a neat one-two.

The tie intends Bompastor and Pere Romeu’s sides stay 2 of nan 3 unbeaten sides, nan erstwhile earning a tie for nan 2nd clip and nan latter’s cleanable commencement halted. They stay successful bully positions, Barcelona topping nan array connected 10 points and Chelsea successful sixth connected eight.