Real Madrid vs Chelsea LIVE: Women’s Champions League result and reaction as Blues draw in Spain
Real Madrid 2-2 Chelsea: Emma Hayes’ team kicked off their European campaign with a draw against the Spanish heavyweights
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Your support makes all the difference.Chelsea opened their Women’s Champions League campaign with a draw against Real Madrid in a contest they will believe should have been won. The Blues started as the more aggressive side but went behind in the 10th minute as Olga Carmona’s deflected effort beat Ann-Katrin Berger with the hosts’ first shot of the game.
Emma Hayes’ side responded beautifully. The upped the tempo, controlled possession and equalised just before the break through Niamh Charles’ header. As the second half began Real Madrid played higher up the pitch and occassionally piled the pressure on Chelsea’s defence.
The next breakthrough came at the other end of the pitch though as Charles lofted a cross into the box for Sam Kerr to bullet head into the back of the net. Minutes later, Athenea del Castillo was brought down by Jessie Fleming and dove into the box convincing the referee to award a penalty which Carmona smoked home to make it 2-2.
A final touch of drama arrived in the last minute of stoppage time as Charles swept the ball into the net only for it to be ruled out for offside.
Relive the action from the Women’s Champions League plus get the latest odds and tips right here:
Real Madrid vs Chelsea
These sides are set to face off in the group stage of this competition for the second season running.
The Blues made it three wins from as many Group A outings with a 2-0 home success on 23 November 2022 before being held to a 1-1 in Spain later in December.
Emma Hayes: Winning Champions League would be fairytale end to time at Chelsea
Emma Hayes admitted it would be a fairytale end to her Chelsea career by lifting the Women’s Champions League for the first time at the end of the season.
The Champions League is the one major trophy that has eluded the 47-year-old during that time, with the Blues having lost 4-0 in the 2021 final to Barcelona and reached the semi-finals on three other occasions.
Emma Hayes: Winning Champions League would be fairytale end to time at Chelsea
The trophy is the only one to have eluded Hayes during her time with the Blues.
Real Madrid vs Chelsea
An unbeaten start to the domestic season has seen Chelsea record five wins and one draw from their opening six league matches of the season.
They hold a three-point advantage at the top of the WSL table having scored 18 goals and conceded just four in the process.
Real Madrid are also in a rich vein of form in their domestic league and occupy second place in the Primera Division, three points behind leaders Barcelona, and recorded an emphatic 7-1 victory over Real Sociedad in their previous league outing on home turf.
Real Madrid vs Chelsea
Chelsea’s last visit to the Estadio Alfredo di Stefano came in December last year, when they salvaged a draw to take a point back to London.
Caroline Weir opened the scoring for the hosts before Guro Reiten’s penalty squeezed past goalkeeper Misa Rodriguez to ensure a share of the spoils on the night.
Ruthless Emma Hayes built a Chelsea dynasty and will fix USA’s ‘arrogance’ and ‘complacency’
“If you don’t improve I’m selling you.”
A young Jess Carter is sat in the middle of a white-walled room at Chelsea’s training ground in Cobham, a tactics board behind her, a fleet of analysts and fitness staff, all armed with laptops, positioned on the outside, quietly looking in. Carter is chewing gum and looks bored, frustrated to have been hauled aside to hear the same old message. Facing her is Emma Hayes.
“I want you to show every f***ing day that you give a f*** about yourself,” Hayes says. “It’s up to you to decide your future.”
Four years later, it is clear what future Carter decided to choose.
Ruthless Emma Hayes will fix USA’s ‘arrogance’ and ‘complacency’
Hayes has taken charge of the four-time World Cup winners after the shock announcement that she will leave Chelsea at the end of the season
Real Madrid vs Chelsea
Real Madrid midfielder, Sandie Toletti, spoke ahead of the match saying: "We are looking forward to playing these important games against top-level teams.
“We know that Chelsea are one of the best teams in Europe. It’s a difficult game but we are going to go out and try to win!”
Pre-match thoughts from Emma Hayes
Chelsea manager, Emma Hayes, spoke to UEFA.com ahead of kick off saying: “We are really looking forward [to getting started]. We have only played domestically so being in the Champions League – a bigger competition – the team really loves it.
“We all know Real Madrid have unbelievable threats going forward, particularly on the counter. They’ve got pacy players out wide, so we expect them to be direct in those moments. For us, we have to be patient to break down a very compact block and find the right moments to get into the box.
“[I hope to see] a win, and most importantly, progress in what we’re doing this season. The team know what the objectives are, the team know the areas we have to improve if we’re going to progress in Europe and these are the things I’m going to be looking for.”
Kick off! Real Madrid 0-0 Chelsea
Real Madrid kick off the match in Spain and work the ball around the back line. Linda Caicedo is fed the ball on the left wing but she’s quickly closed down and the ball rolls out for a throw in.
Real Madrid 0-0 Chelsea
3 mins: Erin Cuthbert whips a cross into the middle of the box from the right wing but there’s no-one around to get on the end of the pass.
Jessie Fleming does her best to keep the ball in play but she can’t stop the ball from crossing the line and gifting Madrid another throw in.
Chelsea have started positively though.
Real Madrid 0-0 Chelsea
6 mins: Great work from Olga Carmona.
Johanna Rytting Kaneryd threads a fine pass into the box to match Fran Kirby’s run. Kirby looks to line up a shot only for Carmona to scurry across and leap in front of the ball.
She takes it off the Chelsea midfielder and boots it clear. Fine defending.
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