Chelsea were held to a goalless draw by a particularly stubborn BK Hacken side in their third Champions League outing of the season, despite registering 22 attempts at goal.
Only five of those hit the mark as Swedish goalkeeper Jennifer Falk denied Chelsea’s best effort from Johanna Rytting Kaneryd, while both Erin Cuthbert and Sam Kerr hit the woodwork during a frustrating 90 minutes at Stamford Bridge.
Kerr did have the ball in the net after Lauren James’ second-half introduction injected some spark in Chelsea’s attack, but the striker had drifted a half-yard offside before sending a smart looping header beyond Falk.
The visitors were impressively resolute throughout but Emma Hayes’ side will be disappointed they didn’t make better use of their dominance in possession, wasting a glut of chances in both halves to unearth a deciding goal.
Surprise package Hacken remain in pole position in Group D after three games played, while Chelsea sit second.
How Hacken foiled Chelsea
Lauren James made a positive impact when introduced from the bench in the second half
This encounter was hardly the uplifting response the Blues would have wanted after Sunday’s 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Women’s Super League rivals Arsenal.
The manner of that defeat pained manager Hayes, so much so that she described the performance as “us at our worst” after the game, clearly desiring a reaction from her underperforming charges.
The approach to this contest, just four day’s later, was entirely different and Chelsea were much improved, dictating play and creating openings at will, only to be met by Hacken’s impressive resistance.
Sam Kerr clipped the crossbar with a header from a corner
Cuthbert came close when she clipped the underside of the crossbar from Guro Reiten’s cutback in the first half, while James looked bright as a second-half substitute, and would have claimed the assist for Kerr’s header had the Australia international timed her run a fraction better.
Rytting Kaneryd was refused by the outstretched leg of Falk shortly before that, latching onto a wonderfully incisive Cuthbert pass, but the door remained firmly shut.
Two precious points dropped, and the chance to displace the Swedish side at the top of Group D missed.
Hayes: We’re in a tricky moment
Emma Hayes lamented poor decision making in aftermath of Hacken stalemate
Chelsea manager Emma Hayes:
“The technical execution was really poor from our team. The stats show how strong we were. We’re frustrated, the amount of ball we had there wasn’t enough quality from the team.
“We missed some calmness and composure on the ball. This is a tricky moment in the season. These moments you see the character of the players.
“For whatever reason some of the players are the best in the world but struggled with some of the simple moments.
“There was poor decision making at many moments.”
What’s next?
Saturday 16th December 11:30am
Kick off 12:00pm
Chelsea are in domestic action for the final time in 2023 on Sunday as they travel to Bristol City in the Women’s Super League, while you can watch our live WSL offering the day before when Tottenham take on Arsenal in Saturday’s North London Derby, live on Sky Sports Football; kick-off 12pm.