UEFA Women's Champions League

Chelsea player ratings vs Barcelona: Magdalena Eriksson & Maren Mjelde star as battling Blues contain Blaugrana's superstars in UWCL

Ameé Ruszkai Click here to see more stories from this author
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Geyse Magdalena Eriksson Barcelona Chelsea UWCL
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The Blues were narrowly defeated 1-0 by Barca at Stamford Bridge on Saturday in the first leg of their Women's Champions League semi-final.

Chelsea have a mountain to climb to reach the Women's Champions League final after losing 1-0 to Barcelona in the home leg of their semi-final on Saturday.

The Blues were set back early on by Caroline Graham Hansen's wonderstrike, a goal that was worthy of being the difference on the day.

Guro Reiten had the ball in the back of the net for what appeared to be an equaliser but she was denied by the offside flag and, after that, the hosts didn't create too much.

Barca could've had a second late on when Marta Torrejon hit the post with a header but they will still be pleased with the result ahead of their home leg at Camp Nou on Thursday.

GOAL rates the performances of a defeated Chelsea team...

Editors' Picks

  1. Goalkeeper & Defence
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    Goalkeeper & Defence

    Ann-Katrin Berger (7/10):

    Had a couple of stand-out moments in the game, including some great goalkeeping to deny Graham Hansen in the first half and a strong stop from a Fridolina Rolfo shot in the second. Could do nothing about the goal.

    Eve Perisset (6/10):

    Was quite solid at the back, kept Salma Paralluelo quiet and dealt well with the change in formation.

    Maren Mjelde (7/10):

    Was Chelsea's stand-out performer on the day. Did well against both Graham Hansen and Paralluelo in two dangerous situations in the box and also made a great block to deny the latter early in the second half.

    Magdalena Eriksson (7/10):

    Was a strong performer in the centre of defence, too, with her and Mjelde doing well as a partnership to limit Barca.

    Jess Carter (5/10):

    Struggled to contain Graham Hansen, as any player would. Changes in formation meant gaps often appeared on the left-hand side between her and Niamh Charles.

    Niamh Charles (5/10):

    Seemed to be caught between switches in formation when Graham Hansen scored and got nowhere near her.

  2. Midfield
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    Midfield

    Erin Cuthbert (6/10):

    A threat with her passing range and vision when she was able to get on the ball but it was difficult to break Barca down.

    Melanie Leupolz (5/10):

    Struggled to have a real influence on the game before being subbed off towards the end of the game.

    Jelena Cankovic (5/10):

    Didn't have a particularly bad game but struggled to really get into things and was subbed off at half-time.

  4. Attack
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    Attack

    Sam Kerr (6/10):

    Linked up well with Reiten and gave Barca's centre-backs something to think about but Chelsea didn't create much that Kerr could benefit from.

    Guro Reiten (6/10):

    Linked up well with Kerr in the first half and should've scored when Lucy Bronze blocked her shot on the line. She did have the ball in the back of the net in the first half but was offside.

  5. Subs & Manager
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    Subs & Manager

    Lauren James (5/10):

    Brought on at half-time and had an early sight of goal from range, but didn't really catch it as she'd like. Struggled to get on the ball and run at the Barca defence.

    Sophie Ingle (5/10):

    Came on for Cuthbert with just over 20 minutes to go but wasn't able to influence play much as Barca started to gain more control.

    Jessie Fleming (N/A):

    Came on with only a few minutes to play.

    Pernille Harder (N/A):

    Made a welcome return from injury with her first appearance since November, but came on too late to make an impact on the game.

    Johanna Rytting Kaneryd (N/A):

    Came on with only a few minutes left to play.

    Emma Hayes (6/10):

    Facing Barcelona is one of the toughest tasks for any manager in world football but Chelsea will go to an intimidating Camp Nou next week still in with a shot of making the final. Emma Hayes set her team up in a way that meant they were not overwhelmed by the Catalans and they did create a few chances early on. But the second half saw the visitors gain more control with Hayes' subs unable to stop that.