Chelsea overcame a power outage at Stamford Bridge to draw 1-1 with Barcelona in the Women’s Champions League, ending a run without a positive result against the Spaniards but leaving themselves to rue missed opportunities.
Play was suspended for close to 10 minutes after a stadium power failure that cut TV feeds and rendered VAR inoperative. Chelsea took the lead when Ellie Carpenter combined with Aggie Beever-Jones before driving forward and blasting home on the break. Barcelona levelled shortly after when Ewa Pajor profited from poor defending at a corner.
Chelsea remained the more threatening side before and after the interruption. Wieke Kaptein saw efforts denied by goalkeeper Cata Coll and the foot of the post, while the stoppage appeared to sap the momentum Chelsea had built as Barcelona grew into the game in the second half.
Catarina Macario’s introduction provided a spark; she had a header ruled out for offside by the narrowest of margins with her first touch. She then set up Carpenter for a gilt-edged chance, but the Australian dragged her attempt wide from close range. The game finished 1-1, leaving Barcelona top of the group on goal difference and Chelsea outside the top four that would guarantee quarter-final qualification.
Team news: Millie Bright was omitted to the bench by Sonia Bompastor, Reece James was only fit for the substitutes’ bench, and Sam Kerr was unavailable despite having been reported fit earlier in the international break. Chelsea had won only once in seven Champions League meetings with Barcelona and had lost 8-2 on aggregate to them in last season’s semi-final.
Sonia Bompastor (Chelsea boss) said: “We were the better team tonight, we had a really good performance and created a lot of opportunities. We scored a great goal. I’m happy but frustrated because we could have won the game. Any time we play with this mindset and mentality, the players need to know how good we can be. We played against a strong opponent, everybody knows Barcelona’s qualities. To be able to have this performance against them was really positive. If you want to be perfect you have to be clinical and that is something we are working on, we won’t give up on that aspect. I helped them with different tactics from last season, so the game plan tonight was better than the one we did last season. The team need to be proud of the performance today, but also take belief and confidence from this performance.”
Chelsea captain Erin Cuthbert said: “Tonight it was about how we performed. Earlier this year we didn’t put our best foot forward. Tonight is a performance to be proud of. It’s a good draw. It’s something to build on. The team worked tirelessly. Everybody worked in perfect synergy. You shouldn’t need any motivation to play for Chelsea. Every single game is a game you want to win. We were obviously disappointed with the offside goal. The fact we’re disappointed with not getting the win at home against Barcelona is a really good start for us. Two games left and we want to win both of them.”