Real Madrid v Chelsea: Women’s Champions League – live | Women’s Champions League
Key events
45 + 2 min: The ball drops to Nusken after a scramble in the box from the corner but Misa saves.
45 + 1 min: Cuthbert takes the free kick, it was on target but Toletti deflects it out for a corner. One minute added here.
45 min: Wow that was almost a penalty! Toletti is handed a yellow card and Chelsea have a free kick on the edge of the box for a foul on Kaneryd.
44 min: It will be interesting to see how that equaliser changes the balance of the game, Chelsea have had the lion share of the possession but Real Madrid had been stoic in their defence. They cannot afford to fade now.
42 min: Chelsea worked the ball through the team, it came to Lawrence who picked out Charles who finished it off with a bullet header! It’s Charles’ first Champions League goal.
GOAL! Real Madrid 1-1 Chelsea (Charles, 42′)
Lovely team goal!
40 min: Kaneryd tries a chip over the top but Kathellen clears, Real Madrid’s defence has been incredible so far – so controlled, precise and calm. The ball is now Chelsea’s as Carmona is judged to have had a foul throw. Kirby whips it in but it was just over the head of Kerr, it comes back and Andres clears it! Chelsea coming so close.
38 min: Bright puts a long ball in again but it has too much on it. For all of Chelsea’s efforts they are yet to reap any reward.
36 min: Cuthbert takes the corner but Kathellen heads away. It comes back to Cuthbert who tries a long range shot but it’s over the bar. Chelsea can smell the equaliser and are hunting for it, there’s a great cross and it looks like Fleming will score but Misa collects.
34 min: The delivery is okay but it’s cleared quickly by Real Madrid. Chelsea work it upfield again but Caicedo does really well to get it away but the English side are fighting and they win a corner off of Carmona.
33 min: Cuthbert takes it and it’s a poor delivery, if Hernandez left that it would have been straight out but she headed away giving Chelsea another platform. Kerr whacks the ball and it’s deflected out for another corner.
32 min: Hakan has got in touch and said: “I just wanted to say how proud and happy I am that Häcken won away to FC Paris. We lost the league by the narrowest goal difference on Saturday and today they beat the team that took out Arsenal. And next week we play Real!” And beat the team who also knocked out Wolfsburg, it was a statement win, it would be great to see it continue. Back to the game and Chelsea have a free kick in a great position after a Toletti foul.
31 min: Fleming takes the corner and it’s smashed away by Bruun, Chelsea have a throw in but Fleming hits it out and the hosts recover once more.
29 min: Real Madrid win it back and despite Chelsea’s hardest efforts they can’t be muscled off the ball! Andres picks out a pass but Berger gets there before Caicedo – the hosts definitely the stronger. WHAT A SAVE from Misa, Chelsea suddenly break and Kirby passes to Kerr. She whips it at goal but Misa pushes away for a corner.
28 min: Chelsea are being more patient in their latest attack but Kathellen heads away Kirby’s cross into the box. Cuthbert gives away a free kick with a challenge on Bruun, the hosts look to build from deep. They take it but they are forced backwards by Chelsea initially and then Caicedo gives it away.
26 min: Charles gives away a free kick with a hand ball but Real Madrid are in their own half. Eventually they see it out of play and Chelsea have possession, the Blues need to put a confident attack into action, it seems very rushed at the moment. They rush again and Kerr hits it out.
24 min: Bright comes to the rescue as Caicedo hunts down a great pass, Real Madrid continue to pull the strings in this one.
22 min: Caicedo tries a move similar to her goal against Germany at the World Cup but her touch is a bit too heavy and Berger is able to clear. Chelsea are on the attack after a huge ball from Bright, it comes to Kerr who tries to find Kirby but Real Madrid do just enough to take it away from her, that was close to an equaliser.
20 min: It’s whipped in but it’s headed away easily, Chelsea appeal for another corner but it isn’t given. Every time Chelsea get forward at the moment Real Madrid’s defence swarms them and forces the visitors into errors, it’s an impressive start to the group stage from them.
18 min: Chelsea have composed themselves since the goal but Real Madrid are clearly still on top, just as I type that Charles wins a corner – always the way!
16 min: Here come Chelsea and they try and find Kerr on the edge of the box but Toletti does well to take it away from her. Chelsea win it back and appeal for a foul on Kerr but it isn’t given.
14 min: Real Madrid want to punish Chelsea while they have the momentum and they come forward again but Caicedo is pulled back. The goal has been awarded to Carmona to save Chelsea’s blushes.
12 min: Real Madrid had been building their attack, Berger had a weak clearance and it came back to Real Madrid. A pass came to Carmona and she walloped it at goal, it may have taken a deflection off of Bright so I will see if it goes down as an own goal. But wow, what a goal.
GOAL! Real Madrid 1-0 Chelsea (Carmona, 10′)
WHAT A SCREAMER!
10 min: Zach has got in touch and said: “As a USWNT/Arsenal fan I could not be more happy with Hayes coming to the USA. Along with everything else, she instills her calm confidence in her players. Last season, Chelsea had so many games in hand near the end, they could win them all and top the league, but it was a lot of pressure to play six league games in May. They won them all without looking worried at all.” Hayes is incredible with Chelsea and has been with Arsenal in the past too, as an assistant. It will be so interesting to see her on the international stage. Back to the match and Carter is having to do a lot of cover work as Real Madrid grow into this game and start to implement their attack.
8 min: A long range effort comes in but Berger is able to collect, it looked to be going wide regardless. The tussle between Caicedo and Lawrence will be so interesting tonight, they are both not giving each other any breathing space, the ball comes to Kirby again after connecting with Kaneryd again – a great combination so far.
6 min: CARMONA! My word, Kirby looked sure to score there with a perfectly time ball to her in the box. But Carmona timed her tackle perfectly to halt the attack, superb.
4 min: Lovely bit of work there from Kaneryd as she outmanoeuvres two Madrid players to find Cuthbert, she crosses but it doesn’t find a Chelsea teammate. Fleming is caught and wins a free kick but Chelsea have to build from deep to create something here.
2 min: Lawrence hounding Caicedo early on, she knows what she is capable and trying to crowd out the space around the Colombia international.
Kick-off! Real Madrid 0-0 Chelsea
So can Chelsea upset the party in Madrid? Or can Real Madrid deal Chelsea their first loss of the season? WE will soon find out.
Ah there we go! Commentary is back up, Sam Kerr looks bang up for this!
The players are out on the pitch and this game is just minutes away from kicking off. If you’re watching the stream do not worry you aren’t the only one not getting any commentary! Hopefully that fixes as the match progresses.
Read Madrid manager Alberto Toril has also spoken ahead of the match: “We’re going to approach this game in the best possible way and we’ll go out to compete well against a very tough side. We’re playing at home, we have good momentum at the moment and we’re going to go out for the win. Throughout the match we have to adapt to every situation. Chelsea manage matches very well and they have a lot of experienced players. We’ll have to manage that and understand what we need at any given moment.”
There is one star on the Real Madrid team that many of you may have been introduced to during the World Cup – Colombia’s Linda Caicedo. Her amazing technical ability helped her team beat Germany and make herself a household name. Chelsea will have to watch out for her threat tonight if they are to get a result.
There are three other games happening today in the competition. Bayern v Roma and Paris FC v Hacken have already finished with Bayern and Roma settling for a 2-2 draw and Hacken beating Paris 2-1. Ajax will take on PSG with the same kick-off time as Real Madrid Chelsea. I’ll update you with that score as we go.
The Women’s Champions League group stage started yesterday with results including Barcelona beating Benfica 5-0 and Lyon recording a 9-0 win over Slavia Praha. Read all about yesterday’s action:
I’d love to hear your opinions on Hayes’ departure and new job with the USWNT, email me your thoughts! Also I always love to hear about snacks while watching the game so leave those too!
For all the details on Hayes’ move to the USWNT have a read of the full story:
Chelsea captain Millie Bright was asked about her reaction to Hayes’ departure in the pre-match press conference and she said: “It has been a bit of a whirlwind [since the announcement], Immediately, as a player and a person, I was devastated. I’ve been here nine years now under Em. I’ve learned so much – she is a mentor, a coach, a friend, a life coach, it’s more than just playing football under her. That has probably been the biggest thing in taking my game to the next level. If you can play under a manager that long and keep thriving it’s very rare. It has been a privilege to work with her for so long. We’re so grateful and proud of what we’ve achieved but we have a full season ahead and that’s what we’re focused on.”
Chelsea boss Emma Hayes has spoken about what it would mean if she could win the WCL trophy with the club in her final season. “It would be a fairytale to win it, of course,” she said “But I didn’t grow up liking fairytales – my sister did. I would love nothing more than to be in a winning position with this team.”
The team news is in! Real Madrid have made two changes to their starting team who beat Real Sociedad 7-1 last Friday with Ivana Andres and Claudia Zornoza in for Rocio and Hayley Raso.
Real Madrid: Misa, Oihane, Ivana, Kathellen, Olga, Toletti, Teresa, Athenea, Zornoza, Caicedo, Bruun
Chelsea, meanwhile, have also made two changes from their 3-0 win over Everton in the WSL last weekend. Ashley Lawrence and Fran Kirby come in for Eve Perisset and Jelena Cankovic.
Chelsea: Berger, Bright, Nusken, Carter, Lawrence, Kirby, Fleming, Kaneryd, Kerr, Charles, Cuthbert
Preamble
Good evening and welcome back to the Women’s Champions League! Tonight we have Real Madrid v Chelsea and they game has had a lot of build-up thanks to the Blues boss Emma Hayes being confirmed as the next USWNT head coach.
She will take up the role after the current season is over, meaning she has one last chance to win the WCL with Chelsea. It is the only trophy that has evaded Hayes’ grasp at Chelsea since she took charge in 2012. I will cover the story more as the blog continues as there have been a lot of press conferences and opinions being shared.
Back to this game though, Chelsea and Real Madrid were also placed in the same group last season where they drew once and Chelsea won once. They were close matches and so another close encounter can be expected – though star forward Caroline Weir will not play for Madrid as she is currently out with an ACL injury.
Chelsea are the only English club left in the competition too after Arsenal and Manchester United were knocked out in the qualifying rounds.
The match will kick-off at 8pm GMT and the team will be revealing their line-ups shortly so stay tuned for updates.
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