Chelsea on the verge of progressing in the UWCL after draw with Real Madrid | OneFootball

Chelsea have taken another step towards sealing qualification for the UEFA Women’s Champions League’s quarter-finals with a 1-1 draw with Real Madrid at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stéfano this evening.

Caroline Weir opened the scoring for the hosts in the first half but Chelsea levelled matters in the second period through an own goal from Real Madrid keeper Misa Rodriguez after she had initially saved a Guro Reiten penalty.

Chelsea started the match brightly and they went close inside the opening five minutes when Sam Kerr saw an effort rattle the crossbar.

The hosts warmed to the task and Olga Carmona saw a shot go narrowly wide before Kerr was inches away from making the breakthrough again, the Chelsea forward this time firing her effort against the post.

Real Madrid took the lead in the 36th minute thanks to an early Christmas present from Chelsea keeper Ann-Katrin Berger. She gifted the ball to Weir who had the simple task of shooting into an unguarded net.

Chelsea responded to that setback but they were unable to force a way back into the match before half-time.

The Blues were given a golden opportunity to level matters early in the second half when Ivana Andres fouled Reiten in the box. The Norwegian international took the resulting penalty and while her effort was saved, the ball came back off the post and hit home keeper Rodriguez before rolling over the line.

Both sides had chances to win the game. First, Real Madrid’s Carmona was denied by Berger when in a good position to score before Rodriguez pulled off a great save to deny Kerr at the death.

Chelsea will qualify for the quarter-finals with victory over Vllaznia next time out while Real Madrid may need to win both of their remaining matches to reach the knockouts.