Chelsea overcame a power outage at Stamford Bridge to end their winless run against Barcelona in the Women’s Champions League with a 1-1 draw.
The match was suspended for nearly 10 minutes as a power outage at the stadium cut off all television footage and rendered VAR inoperable.
Goals from Ellie Carpenter and Ewa Pajor kept the match level, but the hosts were left to regret missing out on an opportunity to take all three points.
The game was interrupted midway through the first half due to a power outage.
Sonia Bompastor’s side come into the competition having only beaten their opponents once in seven previous Champions League games, losing 8-2 on aggregate when the teams met in the semi-finals last season.
Bompastre will be without Sam Kerr, with captain Millie Bright on the bench after a test start to the season.
Ellie Carpenter puts Chelsea ahead with a ferocious counter-attack
But it didn’t matter as Carpenter paired with Aggie Beaver-Jones to push forward and demolish the hosts in front after a ferocious counter-attack.
Eva Pajor took advantage of some poor defending when equalizing from a corner to ensure that the lead would not last long. However, Chelsea remained in command of the team.
Barcelona celebrate Eva Pahor’s equalizer against Chelsea
Vike Kaptein was denied by both Kata Kol and the foot of the post on separate occasions before the match was stopped due to a power outage in the stadium.
This caused Chelsea’s momentum to disappear and it looked as though it was gone as the visiting team began to control the flow of the game throughout the second half.
The introduction of Catalina Macario looked to be the spark the Blues needed, but forward Chelsea headed back in front with her first touch but was ruled out for offside by the narrowest of margins.
Catarina Macario scored with her first touch but was ruled out for offside.
She then turned provider and set up a brilliant chance for Carpenter to score her second, but the Australian dragged her shot from close range wide.
The games will remain level, meaning Barcelona will move to the top of the Champions League table on goal difference, while Chelsea will not automatically finish in the top four, which is necessary to qualify for the quarter-finals.
Bompastor: We were the better team.
Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastre said in an interview with BBC Sport:
“We were the better team tonight. We performed really well and created a lot of chances. We scored a great goal. We could have won the game, so I’m happy but disappointed.”
“Whenever we play with this mindset and this mentality, the players need to know how good we can be.
“We played against a strong opponent. Everyone knows the quality of Barcelona. It was really positive to perform like this against them.”
Sonia Bompastre believes Chelsea side were the better team against Barcelona
“If you want to be perfect, you have to be clinical and that’s what we’re working on and we’re not going to abandon that aspect.
“Our game plan tonight was better than last season because we helped them with different tactics than last season.
“The team needs to be proud of today’s performance, but at the same time they need to take belief and confidence from this performance.”
‘A proud draw for Chelsea’
Chelsea captain Erin Cuthbert told ESPN:
“Tonight was about how we performed. Earlier this year, we weren’t at our best. Tonight was a performance I’m proud of.
“It’s a good draw and we should build on this. The team worked tirelessly. Everyone worked in perfect synergy.”
“You don’t need motivation to play for Chelsea. Every game is a game you want to win.
“We were obviously disappointed with the offside goal. The fact that we weren’t able to win at home against Barcelona is a really good start for us. We have two games left and we want to win both games.”
