How Chelsea learnt from past mistakes to claim Barcelona draw in Champions League

Sonia Bompastor's side delivered an impressive performance at Stamford Bridge

Credit: Getty Images

Chelsea maintained their unbeaten record in the Champions League league phase with a tightly contested 1-1 draw against rivals Barcelona at Stamford Bridge.

Sonia Bompastor’s side were more than worthy of their point and could have had all three if not for some wasted chances in the second half.

Ellie Carpenter’s storming run and finish in the 16th minute put Chelsea into an early lead before Barcelona hit back just eight minutes later, when Chelsea failed to deal with a Clàudia Pina corner and Ewa Pajor, one of Europe’s most lethal strikers, smashed the ball into the roof of the net to make it 1-1.

The first half was disrupted by a long delay caused by a technical fault with the broadcast, but once the match resumed both teams pushed to try to find a winner.

Substitute Catarina Macario thought she had found it when she headed home in the 72nd minute, only for the offside flag to be raised.

It was Carpenter who really should have sealed the win for Chelsea in the 80th minute, but she somehow snatched her shot wide just a few yards out from goal.

Learning lessons

Bompastor, learning from the way her side were punished in the semi-finals last season, crafted and executed a game plan built on limiting Barcelona’s ability to play through the middle of the pitch while also creating opportunities to attack in wide areas.

The Chelsea manager opted for a 3-5-2 formation for this game and even though we’ve seen Chelsea use a back three in the past, this was probably the best we’ve seen of this set-up in action.

It’s a formation that Bompastor has deployed many times during her time at Chelsea, but it has lacked effectiveness, especially when Naomi Girma hasn’t been available.

Opting for a back three gave Chelsea more defensive cover, with Girma, Nathalie Björn and Lucy Bronze forming the central trio. Sandy Baltimore and Ellie Carpenter were deployed as the wing-backs, and both were tasked with pushing high and finding space on the outside of Barcelona’s full-backs.