Ellie Carpenter's stint at Chelsea has hit a new high, with the Matildas star producing a sensational goal in a 1-1 Champions League draw with Barcelona.
With Matildas captain Sam Kerr managed out of the squad, Carpenter found the back of the net in the 16th minute to put Sonia Bompastor's team ahead at Stamford Bridge.
Barcelona hit back through Ewa Pajor in the 24th minute, before Chelsea substitute Catarina Macario's header 83rd-minute goal was chalked off by the offside flag.
Carpenter had dragged a gilt-edged chance from close range wide just moments before with an assist from Macario, with the Blues forced to settle for a point against a team they have now defeated once in only eight meetings.
Chelsea at least snapped a run of three consecutive defeats to Barcelona.
Gun defender Carpenter joined the London club on a five-year deal during the off-season, eyeing glory on home soil at next year's Asian Cup.
The 25-year-old made the move after claiming league titles in four of her five seasons as a regular starter at Lyon.
After an even start, Carpenter exchanged passes with the bright Aggie Beever-Jones and the former Lyon full-back burst forward before she rifled the ball into the roof of the net.
Kerr was left out of the squad as part of her planned rehabilitation following her long-term knee injury, with Bompastor insisting the superstar striker remains fit.
Both Kerr and Carpenter are set to return to the Matildas for friendlies against New Zealand on November 28 and December 2 in Australia.
Meanwhile, Chelsea are down to sixth in the league phase after four fixtures and outside of the top four which will earn automatic qualification for the quarter-finals.
Chelsea had failed to take the lead in each of their three previous contests with Barcelona, but Carpenter corrected that statistic.
Barcelona served up a strong response and equalised just eight minutes later through Poland international Pajor, before a bizarre stoppage.
TV screens inside Stamford Bridge went down, and referee Tess Olofsson subsequently experienced her own technical difficulties.
Play did restart but despite nine minutes of first-half stoppage time, it remained level at the break.
Bompastor turned to her bench with 18 minutes left, and it almost paid off instantly when Macario headed home Cuthbert's wonderful free-kick.
Chelsea celebration were immediately cut short after a quick VAR check showed Macario had been marginally offside.
with PA
