Chelsea scored a controversial stoppage-time penalty to help Chelsea produce one of the narrow football results of the weekend in the Women’s Champions League. The hosts appeared to be out until substitute Sara Dabritz scored in the second part of extra time to give Lyon a 2-0 lead on the night, adding to Vanessa Gilles’ strike in normal time and erasing a one-goal deficit from the first leg. Deep into injury time, though, Lauren James went down in the area after being challenged by Vicki Becho, and after being instructed by the VAR to check the pitchside monitor, referee Ivana Martincic pointed to the spot. Mjelde, a substitute, retained her calm to smash the penalty into the top left corner and force a shootout.
Lyon’s Wendie Renard and James both had penalty attempts saved, but Ann-Katrin Berger saved Lindsey Horan’s penalty kick to send Chelsea through and set up a tie with Barcelona. Lyon, the eight-time champion, felt let down by the umpires in the important penalty decision.
Chelsea avoided many early alarms as Lyon attempted to cut the gap right away. Delphine Cascarino, making her 100th Chelsea appearance, forced the first stop from Berger before Signe Bruun shot a wonderful opportunity wide from inside the box. Nonetheless, Sam Kerr had the finest chance of the first half as Chelsea promptly countered Lyon with James playing the striker through on goal, but she was denied by the superb Christiane Endler’s face. As Chelsea got their stride, she was called upon to tip James’ bending effort over the bar. Lyon remained a threat, with Bruun volleying straight at Berger.
The striker’s missed chances led to her being replaced at halftime by Ada Hegerberg, but it was Chelsea’s Melanie Leupolz’s removal during the second half that tilted the game in Lyon’s favor. The midfielder walked down the tunnel in tears, holding her injured nose from an unintentional contact, and Gilles soon squeezed home at Berger’s near post to force extra time. Following a boring first period, substitute Dabritz blasted into the bottom corner with five minutes remaining to put the eight-time champions on the cusp of a statement triumph. They appeared to be cruising until James fell down in the second of two added minutes, clipped on the right heel by Becho, and Mjelde wonderfully executed the penalty.
Chelsea converted their first three penalty kicks before Renard was rejected, but James was denied as well. Lyon’s fourth goal came when Jess Carter smashed in, piling pressure on Horan, whose low effort into the bottom left corner was turned out by Berger, sparking wild scenes at Stamford Bridge.
“I refused to watch the shootout until Guro (Reiten) forced me to. We had never won a penalty shootout as a team, so you can understand my thoughts,” Chelsea Women’s head coach Emma Hayes said. “I was obliged to make every substitution tonight due to injury. Even in extra time, I had to be aware of the penalty takers on the pitch. To be honest, I didn’t see a goal in us. As I saw Lyon’s replacements come on, world-class talent after world-class talent, I know we did the best we could given the circumstances. Even though it was the ugliest, it was the most character-building performance.”
“I’m just glad it’s finished and we’re done with it. Tonight, our depth was limited. Participants have had to enter the game and take on different roles. Marun (Mjelde) is a Chelsea legend for doing what she did on the game’s final kick, having to place the ball three times. She deserves her night just as much as Ann-Katrin (Berger) does because we’ve seen her in penalties. I knew if we got to that point, the momentum would shift. Drama! I’m relieved as well as fatigued,” she added. “[Mjelde] is of blue blood. You can rely on her in the most critical situations. Everyone expected her to take the penalty, and everyone expected her to score. What’s more, she took the opening penalty of the shootout after a few minutes. Doing it twice is even more spectacular.”
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