Chelsea were left to rue a missed chance after a 1-1 draw with Barcelona at Stamford Bridge, despite arguably their best display of the season.
Chelsea dominated large spells, especially in the first half, and took the lead when Ellie Carpenter finished sweetly. The advantage lasted only eight minutes, though, after Chelsea failed to clear a corner and Ewa Pajor reacted quickest to convert from the loose ball.
Late in the game Carpenter should have snatched all three points but dragged a close-range attempt wide with only the goalkeeper to beat. Substitute Catarina Macario thought she had won it when her strike hit the net, but the goal was chalked off for a marginal offside. When the final whistle blew, Chelsea slipped to sixth in the group standings, two points behind Barcelona at the top.
Manager Sonia Bompastor praised the performance but was left frustrated by the result. She highlighted the chances created and the need for greater clinical edge in crucial Champions League ties, saying she was pleased with the work rate and overall display but disappointed not to have converted that into a win.
Former Chelsea defender Anita Asante described it as ‘an opportunity missed’ and called it ‘the best performance I’ve seen from Chelsea all season’, praising how the team executed the game plan, troubled Barcelona and produced the clearer chances.
Barcelona coach Pere Romeu admitted Chelsea were ‘very different’ from the side beaten heavily last season, while Bompastor said tactical adjustments after being ‘too ambitious’ in the previous campaign made her team less exposed when out of possession.
Defender Lucy Bronze echoed the frustration: ‘It was frustrating because we feel like we could have won the game on the night. We probably had the better chances… I was saying to Naomi Girma after the game that we were playing chess.’
Naomi Girma, who joined Chelsea in January for a then-club-record fee reported to be around £900,000 from San Diego Wave, produced one of her most commanding displays since arriving. Girma, who has battled injuries and limited minutes, made a crucial first-half block — sprinting across the six-yard area to deny Caroline Graham Hansen shortly before Carpenter’s opener — and continued to read Barcelona’s attacks well when they pushed for a winner.
London City Lionesses forward Nikita Parris singled out Girma’s defensive contributions, and Bompastor added that Girma was probably ‘one of the best’ on the night, noting the importance of keeping her fit and on the pitch to benefit from her experience and quality.
The draw represented a clear improvement on last season’s 8-2 aggregate semi-final defeat to Barcelona, but Chelsea’s inability to finish chances proved costly in a match they had hoped to use to climb the group table.
Ben Haines, Ellen White and Jen Beattie continue to cover the Women’s game on the Women’s Football Weekly podcast, with new episodes every Tuesday on BBC Sounds and extra interviews and content available on the Women’s Football Weekly feed.
