Two controversial refereeing decisions denied Chelsea a victory against Real Madrid this evening with the two sides playing out a 2-2 draw at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano.
Chelsea looked to have secured the victory when Sam Kerr fired them 2-1 up with 16 minutes to go but Real Madrid were awarded a penalty five minutes later, despite contact seemingly being made outside of the box. Niamh Charles was then cruelly denied an injury time winner with the player not being offside or committing any clear offence.
Real Madrid took the lead with the very first attempt of the match. Olga Carmona took aim from long range and her effort deflected into the net via Millie Bright.
Despite being behind, Chelsea looked to be in control of the possession and Kerr forced an excellent stop from home keeper Misa Rodríguez at the near post.
The Blues deserved an equaliser and they got it four minutes before half-time. Ashley Lawrence’s cross found the head of Charles and she directed the ball into the far corner of the Real Madrid net.
Chelsea made a strong start to the second period and Rodríguez had to pull off another great save to deny Kerr. The Australian international finally found the back of the net later in the half when she headed home from Charles’ pinpoint delivery.
The South West Londoners looked set to be going home with the three points but Real Madrid were awarded a penalty when Jessie Fleming caught Athenea del Castillo. The referee made the wrong call with contact being made outside of the area. Carmona stepped up to take the spot kick and fired the ball straight down the middle and into the net.
Chelsea pushed hard to regain the lead but Johanna Rytting Kaneryd couldn’t beat Rodríguez before Lauren James crashed a shot off the bar. The rebound fell to Fleming but she could only scuff her shot wide. Charles then thought that she had won it deep in second half stoppage time only to be denied by a flag. Again, the decision was hugely questionable with Charles having done nothing wrong. Emma Hayes’ side will believe that they should have come away with a 3-2 win rather than a 2-2 draw.
Matchday 2 sees Chelsea play host to Paris FC at Stamford Bridge next Thursday evening.
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