Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

As it happenedended

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

Michael Jones
Wednesday 15 November 2023 22:40 GMT
Comments
U.S. Soccer Announces Emma Hayes as Women's Team Manager

Your support helps us to tell the story

This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.

The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.

Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. 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.

Mike Jones15 November 2023 19:25

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.

Hayes will end her 12-year stay with the west-London club after this campaign.

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.

Mike Jones15 November 2023 19:30

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.

Mike Jones15 November 2023 19:35

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.

Mike Jones15 November 2023 19:40

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

Mike Jones15 November 2023 19:45

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!”

Mike Jones15 November 2023 19:50

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.”

Mike Jones15 November 2023 19:55

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.

Mike Jones15 November 2023 20:01

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.

Mike Jones15 November 2023 20:03

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.

Mike Jones15 November 2023 20:05

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in