Chelsea survived an early scare at Celtic Park, claiming a 2-1 victory to cement their place at the top of their group in the UEFA Women’s Champions League.
A lackluster start under the Celtic Park lights saw Chelsea concede in the early stages of the game, before the Blues recovered thanks to first-half goals from Maika Hamano and Ashleigh Lawrence.
The victory puts Chelsea in a comfortable position as they now turn their attention to a home fixture against Celtic next week at Stamford Bridge.
How the game developed
Chelsea started the match on the front foot, with Wieke Kaptein testing Celtic goalkeeper Kelsey Daugherty with a long-range shot in the 6th minute. The pace continued to be controlled by the Blues, as Sandy Baltimore created several positive chances from her spot as right side.
Blues coach Sonia Bompastor made eight changes to the winning line-up that defeated Liverpool in the Women’s Super League (WSL) at the weekend, something that definitely had a negative impact on the team chemistry at Celtic Park. The big changes made Chelsea look disjointed throughout the pitch, something the Scottish side took advantage of in the early stages.
The deadlock was broken in the 21st minute, when a visionary pass from Amy Gallacher shook the Chelsea defense and sent Murphy Agnew into a one-on-one encounter with Zecira Musovic. The Celtic forward made no mistake, she scored her shot and made the hosts the unlikely leaders at home.
The excitement was short-lived for Scottish fans as Chelsea did what they do best and bounced back immediately. Ashleigh Lawrence sent Beever-Jones on his way, before the England striker rounded Bruna Costa and sent a low cross into the path of Hamano. The shot was by no means powerful, but it managed to get the job done as Daugherty failed to get a strong hand on his save.
Chelsea managed to take the lead just five minutes later, when Baltimore’s low cross was met by a scramble inside the box before Lawrence pounced on the rebound and buried his shot into the back of the net.
Erin Cuthbert threatened to give Glasgow a warm welcome before the break when she fired a Nathalie Bjorn header just over the bar.
The second half was more or less the same for Chelsea, as the Blues dominated 72% of the game’s possession but failed to capitalize on their opportunities.
Catarina Macario was eager to make an impact off the bench, outmaneuvering Shannon McGregor before forcing a solid save from Daugherty. The USWNT forward had a comparable opportunity later in the game, but this was denied by a save from the Celtic goalkeeper who managed to deflect the opportunity over the bar.
The Blues saw red in the 95th minute, when Beever-Jones made a silly challenge in the final minutes that led to her receiving a second yellow card and being sent off the field. The challenge was not serious, but rather an unnecessary intervention in his own half given that he was already on a yellow card.
The match ended 1-2 under the lights of Celtic Park, a scoreline that many anticipated would be much larger. Chelsea took 26 shots over the 90 minutes, and seemed to really lack their clinical edge. The Celtic goalkeeper must be commended as Daugherty made some great saves to preserve the narrow margin.
Portero: Zecira Musovic – 7/10 – A shaky first half for Musovic after some nervous fumbles could have been better exploited by a more threatening front line. He didn’t have much to do in the second half, as Celtic’s only two significant shots on goal came in the first period.
CB: Maelys Mpome – 6/10 – Chelsea’s centre-backs were perhaps the worst performers on the park. Mpome looked a little lost, something that will be helped by more playing time in the future.
CB: Nathalie Bjorn – 6/10 – Bjorn really seemed like a player without consistent minutes, appearing much more disjointed and rushed than usual. Bjorn and Mpome felt the effects of the lack of playing time together, leaving many gaps open for Celic to exploit. He also lacked his usual creativity with the ball.
CB: Eva Perisset – 6/10 – Perisset, usually a very consistent performer, seemed far from herself. The more central role may have inhibited his best strengths, and that was evident in the performance.
RM: Sandy Baltimore – 8/10 – He appeared to be the main catalyst for Chelsea’s attacking moves in the first half. This role was much more natural for Baltimore and it really paid off. He did well to drop back and do the defensive work as well.
CM: Erin Cuthbert (c) – 7/10 – There were many times when Cuthbert shot his shot wide of the target, when it might have been more beneficial to pass it. Otherwise, a very calm and solid performance by the Scottish midfielder.
CM: Oriane Jean-François – 7/10 – The 23-year-old midfielder had some brilliant moments in the center of the park, no doubt making a bid for Bopastor to gain more minutes in the WSL.
LM: Ashleigh Lawrence – 7/10 – The tying goal reflected the signs of an experienced player, as Lawrence took advantage of an opportunity that the other players seemed to miss. Impressive in width and benefited from freedom of attack.
AM: Sunday Captain – 9/10 – Some truly brilliant moments that should have Chelsea fans very excited about the future of this player. The maturity he showed in the center of the park made it difficult to believe that he is 19 years old and playing Champions League football.
ST: Aggie Beever-Jones – 6/10 – The English striker had an impressive first half, assisting the first goal with her trademark footwork. Her second half performance wasn’t as loud and she was docked points for the silly challenge that saw her sent off in the final minutes.
ST: Maika Hamano – 8/10 – Opening the scoring at Celtic Park, Hamano has been in truly impressive form of late. The young attacker made her presence known against the Scottish team and Chelsea’s youthful talent continues to shine.
Substitutes
SUB: Guro Reiten (46′ for Cuthbert) – 7/10 – Substituted at half-time to make a difference considering the form she was in recently. Reiten really caused problems for Celtic, injecting some much-needed attacking impetus for the Blues.
SUB: Johanna Rytting Kaneryd (46′ for Lawrence) – 7/10 – Another positive performance from Chelsea off the bench. Rytting Kaneryd generated some positive attacking moments, but failed to capitalize on their opportunities. He made no real mistakes and seemed to restore some confidence in the team’s attack.
SUB: Lucy Bronze (46′ para Baltimore) – 7/10 – He didn’t have much defensive work as Celtic failed to threaten Chelsea in the second half. He benefited from the more offensive role and made no costly mistakes.
SUB: Catarina Macario (58′ for Hamano) – 8/10 – Macario was Chelsea’s brightest attacker in the second half and made an immediate impact off the bench. The USWNT forward was denied by excellent goalkeeping from Daugherty despite hitting some attractive shots.
Substitutes not used: Hannah Hampton, Katie Cox, Julia Bartel
Manager
Sonia Bompastor – 6/10 – It seemed like Chelsea were overconfident heading into this match, and eight changes to the starting line-up certainly seemed like too much for the team. The decision to start Bjorn and Mpome without much preparation cost the Blues early, but the half-time substitutes were well done.
