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GOAL: Chelsea 1-1 Barcelona (Pajor 24)
Pina pops the corner in and it’s a scramble in the box. Chelsea don’t get it clear and Pajor scores.
24 min: Despite Barca’s possession increasing, it is Chelsea who have the next chance. It comes into the box four times but the visitors keep calm heads to clear. Barca then create something themselves and win a corner.
22 min: Barca are known for sustained possession but it feels like they are taking it to another level since conceding, their passes seem as though they are going in slow motion.
20 min: Barca are patiently building up their attack and Girma is under immense pressure to get the ball out of the box, which she just manages to do. Barca win it back and Pajor thinks she has scored but she is offside. Close.
18 min: Well, well. Who would have predicted this? Of course it is early in the game but it is Barcelona’s to chase.
Chelsea break with Beever-Jones finding Carpenter. The Australia star makes a fantastic run into the box and absolutely pelts it into the net. Game on.
GOAL: Chelsea 1-0 Barcelona (Carpenter 16)
What a goal.
16 min: Leon takes the corner and while the delivery was good it’s defended well by Beever-Jones.
15 min: What a save from Peng after the brilliant Graham Hansen is a nuisance once again. The Norway international is alert to everything right now and makes a great run through. Peng concedes a corner.
14 min: Chelsea are continually pressing here but the defensive line from Barca is so solid. It ends with Bronze booting it goalward and Coll collects. The visitors immediately react and Graham Hansen puts in a beauty of a ball which finds Pina but Peng reads it perfectly to collect.
12 min: Baltimore makes a great move again to outsmart Graham Hansen but then the Norway international defends really well to get them out of jail once again.
10 min: Baltimore does excellently down the left to gain some good territory but they can’t then create anything and the hosts run it all the way back to Peng.
8 min: Thompson makes a great run and finds Beever-Jones. They switch back and forth before a loose touch sees the visitors out of danger. A nice spell from the Blues but their final touches just not enough.
6 min: Chelsea’s high press is causing Barca some problems but they manage to skilfully weave themselves out of danger. They run it through the team to Pina but her shot is over the post.
4 min: Barca have had the lions share of these opening exchanges but neither side have registered a shot yet. But Cuthbert now sens Kaptein on her way but the cross in is read well by Coll.
2 min: If you have been following the WSL, Chelsea’s form has dropped of late despite being unbeaten. While Barca have grown game-on-game this season in Liga F. It would be a shock if the Blues came away with a win tonight.
Kick-off: Chelsea 0-0 Barcelona
Here we go.
I’d love to hear from you and if you have read one of my blogs before you will know I love a bit of snack chat. Let me know what you’re digging into while this box office match plays out.
The other two English teams in the competition played yesterday with two very different outcomes. You can get up to date with those here:
Earlier today Twente lost 4-0 to Atletico Madrid. There will be two other 8pm GMT kick-offs this evening which I will try to keep you updated with as OH Leuven take on Roma and PSG play Bayern Munich.
Here’s an interview with the Chelsea captain Millie Bright, who starts from the bench this evening:
Barcelona and Chelsea are the two teams with the joint-best defensive record in the Women’s Champions League this season as they have each only conceded once.
Barcelona manager Pere Romeu said on the Blues: “Beating Chelsea is difficult, but doing it again is even harder. The last times, we achieved it thanks to our style of play, and if we have a complete performance tomorrow, we’ll be closer to winning again.”
Chelsea boss Sonia Bompastor said about Barcelona: “Every game against Barcelona is a big challenge, I don’t feel any different this season compared to previous seasons.”
“They are a really good team, but I also trust the quality we have in our squad. We are expecting the game to be a top game, but we are ready for the challenge and we’ll focus also on ourselves.”
The team news is in. Sam Kerr is out and Lauren James features from the bench for the hosts with the goalkeeper Livia Peng as Hannah Hampton is still injured.
Chelsea: Peng, Bronze, Bjorn, Girma, Baltimore, Carpenter, Kaptein, Walsh, Cuthbert, Thompson, Beever-Jones.
Bench: Spencer, Bright, Buurman, Nusken, Macario, James, Rytting Kaneryd, Charles, Jean-Francois, Hamano, Potter.
For Barcelona, the two players who have played a part in every game against Chelsea feature in Caroline Graham Hansen and Aitana Bonmati.
Barca: Coll, Paredes, Leon, Aleixandri, Pina, Graham Hansen, Putellas, Bonmati, Pajor, Batlle, Brugts.
Bench: Gemma, Sydney, Serrajordi, Kika, Vicky, Aicha, Cano, Fenger, Txell Font, Carla Julia.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to the Women’s Champions League match between Chelsea and Barcelona. A win for either side this evening could see them jump to the top of the table which would supplant Lyon, who are currently top with 10 points.
Barcelona will be the heavy favourites despite Chelsea being at home. Last season the two teams played one another in the Champions League semi-finals, in home and away legs, with Chelsea losing 8-2 on aggregate.
But the Blues do have home advantage and they have not lost a game since the last time the two teams played each other at Stamford Bridge in April.
There will be team news to bring you shortly but what we know so far is that Lauren James could be involved for Chelsea, while Sam Kerr has been ruled out of the fixture. Stay tuned for more updates before kick-off at 8pm GMT.
