Match report
Right then, that’s us – Suzy Wrack’s report will be here shortly. Ta-ra.
And a bit of this.
More nourishment for your peepers.
Man City have beaten Spurs to win the League Cup, equaling Liverpool’s record of four in a row. They look happy enough, but the big test will come on Wednesday when they meet Paris.
Earlier today, a thriller at Elland Road.
Aymeric Laporte has just headed City in front, with eight minutes left. If Rob’s MBM is anything to go by by which to go, it’s been a long time coming, but looked at from a Spurs perspective, it must be frustrating to defend for nearly an hour and half then let in a goal from a set-piece.
It makes you ponder how Chelsea go at this in the second leg – do they just assume they’ll play better, or do they play Beth England, get the ball into her, and go from there? I’d be very tempted by the latter, especially if Bayern go five at the back again – which there’s no way of knowing until it’s too late.
It’s strange to say this of an Emma Hayes team, but Bayern looked a lot better organised than Chelsea. I guess they put a lot into the City game, but still – they seemed to just go about their business and you’ve got to be very good to do that in a Champions League semi, whereas Bayern had a plan which they executed almost to perfection.
Elsewhere, Man City v Spurs is still goalless with 72 minutes gone. Join Rob Smyth for the staggering denouement.
Full-time: Bayern Munich 2-1 Chelsea
By the sound of things, Bayern are delighted with that win. And they played pretty well too, more or less shutting down one of the most potent attacks in the game. Chelsea, meanwhile, will be disappointed with how they played but won’t be too downcast by the result – they’ll fancy themselves to turn it around when the teams meet again next Sunday.
90+3 min Ji tries to make something happen but Lohmann sees her off and skips forward, Charles doing well to intercede. Bayern keep possession for a bit, before Chelsea regroup for one last go.
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90+2 min Kirby into England, who does well to hold up and buy a free-kick off Wenniger; free-kick Chelsea, right of centre, 25 yards out ... which Ji curls directly into Benkarth’s arms.
90 min We’ll have five additional minutes.
90 min Change for Bayern, Boje replacing Magull – who’s had a decent afternoon.
89 min Chelsea have run out of ideas, but they keep playing rather than hump it forward. The way it’s going for them today, I’m not sure if that’s the right option, but it’s a hallmark of a well-coached and confident side.
87 min Chelsea’s intensity has improved since they went 2-1 down, but they’ve lacked a bit of quality in attack - Bayern have frustrated them without too much trouble – so the second leg might demand a rethink. Anyhow, here come Bayern, Schuller finding Dallmann, who wallops wide from 20 yards.
85 min But here comes Leupolz, bousting through centrefield and moving on to Kerr, but her pass outside her forces Charles wide, and Hegering clears up easily enough.
84 min Bayern have done a really good job of disappearing these last 10 minutes or so.
83 min Ji, who’s been disappointing save that blockbuster effort a few minutes ago, gives it away and Schuller breaks down the left, but carelessly gives it straight back to Chelsea.
81 min And here come Bayern, Bright forcing a pass that wasn’t on which allows Magull to drive towards the Chelsea box, but Ingle is alert and does really well to crowd her out; Chelsea see the resultant corner away.
79 min Have Bayern ridden out the storm? Chelsea have been quieter these last few minutes.
77 min Two more changes for Bayern, who are under it at the moment: Dallmann and Wenniger replace Lauder and Beerensteyn.
76 min Now here comes Beerensteyn, driving towards the Chelsea box before being crowded out.
74 min Having England is allowing Chelsea to go longer if they want, and a ball over the top picks her out ... but she can’t quite get her head around it, sending her effort wide of the near post.
73 min Aaaaarrrrggghhh! Ji, who’s been quiet, finds herself on the ball just outside the Bayern box and with no pressure on her, unleashes an absolute ripper that screeches past Benkarth ... and clatters the underside of the bar, bouncing onto the line and up ... and England is there! But she can’t get over the header, nor any purchase on it, and Bayern clear. This is warming up.
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72 min Kerr darts a ball into the box and for a second it looks like England can turn with it, but she can’t quite get her shot away.
72 min Chelsea are pushing but the gaps that’s already leaving won’t be lost on Bayern. If they can score again, they’ll be strong favourites to progress, likewise Chelsea. I wonder if they’d shake hands on 2-1 if they could.
70 min Chelsea send on England for the disappointing Harder.
69 min Schuller spreads right to Glas – she’s been really good – and again she’s allowed to advance. This time, she can’t quite decide whether to shoot or cross, so she tries a bit of both and Berger dives to save.
68 min Leupolz drills one over the top seeking Kerr, but Hegering, who’s been excellent, does all she can do to stop here without conceding a free-kick – and it’s enough.
66 min Immediately, Chelsea win a corner down the left which Andersson mixahs; Hegering heads clear and the ball drops nicely for Bright, but she doesn’t catch it properly, slicing her shot wide from the edge.
66 min Now Chelsea make their change, Charles replacing Reiten.
64 min Hello! Zadrazil, who’s been quiet, slips a ball in behind for for Beerensteyn who looks like she might zone in on goal ... for as long as it takes for the flag to go up.
63 min That’s a smart adjustment for Bayern, sending on their top scorer now their opponent has to chase.
62 min But it’s Bayern who make the first change, Schuller replacing Buhl.
61 min On which point, I don’t think it’ll be long before we see England or Cuthbert, perhaps both.
59 min A 2-1 defeat wouldn’t be disastrous for Chelsea, but they’ve performed poorly so far and that is a problem. Ji, Harder, Kirby and Kerr haven’y turned up yet.
57 min Berger dived into the post trying to make the save, so there’s a break while she’s treated. It never rains.
GOAL! Bayern Munich 2-1 Chelsea (Glas 56)
Bright is late on Buhl in centrefield but the ref allows play to go on and Magull spreads to Glas, attacking the box from the inside-right position. Andersson is with her, but opts not to engage, so eventually, Glas decides to shoot and curls a beauty past Berger at her near post from 18 yards.
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55 min Better from Chelsea, Kirby finding Harder, but Simon challenges and no foul is appraised.
53 min Sam Kerr is spending a lot of time chasing the ball and not a lot of time on the ball.
52 min Leupolz sprads left and Reiten looks to get a cross in, but she runs out of pitch and can only help the ball behind.
51 min A quiet period.
48 min Chelsea win a free-kick on the left, 30 yards out, and again Reiten’s delivery is good - likewise Kerr’s knock-back from beyond the back post. Surely harder will score! But no! From three yards out, she pokes straight at Benkarth, who collects easily enough. That was a huge chance - Harder should’ve taken keeper and ball through the net there.
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47 min This is a good start to the half from Bayern, Buhl allowed to motor towards the Chelsea box before lashing a shot a foot or two over the top.
46 min Almost from the kick-off, Chelsea give it away and Beerensteyn gets a run at Bright; bad news for Chelsea. but Bright does a good job of not committing, forcing the attacker to do something, and when she drags the ball by, her touch is heavy, which allows Berger to come out and claim.
46 min We go again!
Karen Carney reckons Hayes will be asking her players to use the “central corridor” more. Bayern are playing with five at the back, not something they usually do, so I wonder if going to two up will help.
Back come the players.
At Wembley - in front of fans! - Man City and Spurs are drawing 0-0.
Half-time: Bayern Munich 1-1 Chelsea
Neither side has played all that well but Chelsea will be delighted with their away goal and consequently, Bayern will need to push for a win after the break.
45+2 min ...which Bayern clear easily enough.
45+1 min Chelsea get it spread to Andersson, whose first-time cross is blocked at source by Glas; corner to Chelsea...
45 min There’ll be two added minutes.
44 min Again, Bayern raid down the right and again it’s Glas making the incursion – Andersson needs to get closer. The cross is a goodun too, but Bright does brilliantly to leap and flick away.
42 min Leupolz has been the best player on the pitch this half, and she brings the ball forward again, letting go a shot that Ilestedt helpfully blocks directly into her schnozz; there’s a bit of claret so the trainer comes on, but we’re soon back underway.
40 min Again, Glas appears down the right, and this time it’s Andersson not doing enough to prevent the cross. It’s not as good an effort as for the goal but there’s still a harrowing moment for Berger when she can’t gather at the first attempt, completing the job second time around.
38 min In the process, they win a free-kick 25 yards out, right of centre – not dissimilar to the position from which the equaliser was created, but on the other side. This time, though, Leupolz flights her kick beyond the far post and into touch.
37 min A ball in behind Chelsea causes minor aggravation, Buhl ahead of Bright at they look to reach it. But it bounces through to Berger, and Chelsea build again.
37 min It’s a bit quiet at the moment, which neither side will mind all that much.
35 min Leupolz, who’s been one of the better players on the park, drifts left and tries a cross ... which flies away and behind.
34 min Ji, another who needs to get herself involved, moves the ball left to Andersson, who’s probably been Chslea’s best player so far. But her cross is aimless and Bayern get it away.
33 min Harder crunches Laudehr, who stays down as the yellow card is shown. That looked a little harsh.
31 min Chelsea are looking more threatening down the left than the right, but they’re still not getting their front three into the game as often as they need to. I wonder if Harder might drop a little to see if she can get on the ball.
29 min WHAT A CHALLENGE FROM HEGERING! Ingle clips a fine ball over the top for Kerr, who lets it bounce, but when she should should shoot she allows it to bounce again, which makes her task easier in theory. Except back in reality, Hegering is in pursuit and that delay allows her to slide in the prevent what looked a certain goal.
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28 min Bayern try and keep it for a bit and when Ji dithers Magull robs her, spreading wide for Simon, whose cross is poked goalwards by Buhl ... but this time Berger collects.
26 min Harder gets a bang, so there’s a short break while she’s treated; Bayern use it to huddle and regroup.
25 min Hello! Chelsea have woken up! Andersson finds Ji who finds Reiten, and her backheel is directed nicely into the path of Harder ... whose first-time shot flies away wide of the far post.
GOAL! Bayern Munich 1-1 Chelsea (Leupolz 23)
The former Bayern captain has dealt her old team an almighty fluke! Reiten swings a decent cross towards the back post where Laudehr heads ... but directly against Leupolz, and the ball soars over her head and plops into the far side-netting!
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21 min Chelsea can either get closer to each other in midfield, or look to stretch Bayen in wide areas – which will need higher full-backs than they have at the moment. But as I type that, Andersson finds Reiten with a smart pass infield and, as she gathers on the run, Lohmann hacks her down. Free-kick Chelsea, Reiten to stick it into the box from 25 yards out, left of centre.
19 min Kerr and Kirby press Hegering and Ilestedt and the ball runs free to Harder, who can only drag her shot.
19 min Chelsea are struggling for tempo; Bayern are getting to them quickly and closing down really well.
16 min Leupolz is putting herself about and when she gets chapeaud by Magull, Magull is quickly eating the grass. The free-kick, though, is a good one, Kerr doing really well to get a touch with Ilestedt poised to head home. The resultant corner is cleared.
14 min Chelsea were just getting their passing and movement going when the goal came. To concede, and like that, will be stinging.
GOAL! Bayern Munich 1-0 Chelsea (Lohmann 12)
This is disastrous for Berger in the Chelsea goal. Glas finds herself in space down the right – if we’re being harsh, Ji is slow to close her down – and the cross she produces is a good one, swinging flat towards the far post. But Berger is there to claim, only to fumble onto Lohmann’s head, and she has the relatively easy task of nodding into the empty net, despite Bright’s best efforts to block.
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10 min Bayern are allowing Chelsea to play to halfway, then engaging, but have a look! Kirby is allowed to turn and she slides a terrific ball between the lines to Harder, who draws to defenders before slipping a reverse pass for Leuploz. For a second, it looks like a shooting lane is open, but the left-footed curler she tries floats wide.
8 min Zadrazil wins a throw deep inside the Chelsea half and Beerensteyn megs Carter, but can’t collect cleanly around the other side.
6 min It’s Chelsea pushing at the moment. They’re a better side than Bayern and it looks like Bayern know it, sitting off and waiting for a counter.
5 min Andersson darts one into Harder, and immediately Ilestedt is in and introducing her to grass. Chelsea can’t make anything of the free-kick.
3 min Nice from Ji, finding Harder, and immediately Kerr looks in behind ... but the ball zips into touch. Still, that’s a decent flash of Chelsea, and an indication of how they want to play.
2 min Glas flights a decent-looking ball over the top for Buhl, who can’t quite catch up with it.
1 min A fast and untidy start, the ball fizzing about back and forth before disappearing into touch.
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1 min Off we go!
If I was Jens Scheuer, I’d be asking my forwards to buzz about Millie Bright, who can be suspect in possession and on the turn – especially given the continuing absence of Magdalena Eriksson, the team captain.
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Here come the teams...
Karen Carney also hopes Chelsea go for it, and fully expects them to win.
PSG-Barca has finished 1-1. That second leg is going to be alright.
It’d be nice to think that both sides will properly go for this. Chelsea just have so much going forward that it makes sense for them to have at it and Bayern will know that if they can’t win at home they’ve got a problem. But it’s rarely the way of games of this magnitude, so something cagey seems more likely.
I love Emma Hayes. She – and Casey Stoney – have nailed that managerial sweet-spot of astuteness and inspiration.
Emma Hayes she was satisfied with a point against City, and notes that this isn’t just a game with a few days to prepare but the culmination of years of work. I wonder how her players will respond to that admission – you can see how some might find that daunting, but presumably they’ll be galvanised else she’d not have said it.
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And the League Cup final kicks off at 4.30pm BST.
Elsewhere, Leeds and Man United are currently locked at 0-0.
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“Since I live in the same city (London, Canada) that Jessie Fleming is from,” emails Mike MacKenzie, I’m hoping that she gets into the match at some point, and that Chelsea wins!”
I fancy Chelsea, I must say. Lyon getting knocked out is a bit like when Inter beat Barca in the 2009-10 men’s competition; in that case it was Inter who took it on, but I’m not sure PSG have enough. On which point, they\re currently drawing 1-1 at home to Barcelona, with four minutes left to play.
In the BT studio, they note Fran Kirby’s apology for the backpass error which gifted City an equaliser in midweek. It’s fair to say that she made an error, but her side were inviting pressure at the time, trying to see out a narrow lead. Also, players don’t need to apologise for mistakes – they happen, and any supporter who doesn’t grasp that isn’t worth bothering about.
Unfortunately mistakes are part of football, I accept mine tonight & I apologise 💙
— Fran Kirby (@frankirby) April 21, 2021
Huge shift from the team! 😍
Focus turns to the Champions League 💪🏻 @ChelseaFCW 💙 #ChelseaFCW #ChelseaFC pic.twitter.com/jBVa7cPYHV
Bayern, meanwhile, make three changes from their win in the quarter-finals, Weninger, Dallmann and Schuller dropping out with Laudehr, Buhl and Lohmann coming in. I’m not sure if Schuller, her team’s leading scorer, is injured, but Benkarth makes it despite being a doubt.
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Uefa reckon both sides are playing 4-3-3 and perhaps they are, but I wonder if Chelsea’s front three will be configured with Harder in the middle. I’d expect her in behind Kerr, but otherwise Emma Hayes makes one change from the draw with City, Reiten replacing Cuthbert – Magdalena Eriksson, her captain, is still injured so Sophie Ingle continues at the back.
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Teams!
Bayern Munich (4-3-3): Benkarth; Glas, Hegering, Ilestedt, Simon; Zadrazil, Laudehr, Bühl; Lohmann, Magull, Beerensteyn. Subs: Grohs, Lehmann, Donhauser, Boye, Corley, Dallmann, Schuller, Asseyi, Wenninger, Vilhjalmsdottir, Pollak.
Chelsea (4-3-3): Berger; Carter, Bright, Ingle, Andersson; Leupolz, Ji, Reiten; Kirby, Harder; Kerr. Subs: Musovic, Telford, Blundell, England, Fleming, Cuthbert, Charles, Spence, Fox, Beever-Jones.
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Preamble
Well then – Lyon are out. Which may seem like a strange way of starting an MBM featuring Bayern Munich and Chelsea ... but for the fact that, in the entire history of club football, only once has a club been as dominant Les Fenottes – Real Madrid, who snaffled the first five men’s Champions Leagues, from 1955-56 to 1959-60. Their elimination by PSG is a colossal deal, and we now know that come 16 May, this trophy will have a new guardian.
Both Bayern and Chelsea will fancy themselves to be the ones. The home side aren’t in a particularly “good moment”, having lost two of their last three games – one of them to Wolfsburg, who Chelsea despatched in the last round. But they remain top of the league and won 26 games straight at the start of the season, a fair effort.
Chelsea, meanwhile, are in the middle of scrap for the ages at the top of the WSL, two points clear of Manchester City with whom they shared a brilliant but sapping 2-2 draw in midweek. More than any other team left in the competition – and perhaps more than any other team in the world – Chelsea have transcendent individuals able to turn any game, Pernille Harder and Sam Kerr in particular. This is their moment, and they know it.
Kick-off: 5pm local, 4pm BST
