Emma Hayes almost ran out of superlatives for Ann-Katrin Berger after the Chelsea Women goalkeeper pulled off two brilliant penalty saves in a 2-0 Champions League last-16 first leg win over Atletico Madrid.
Sophie Ingle saw red in the 12th minute for Chelsea but Berger superbly denied the subsequent Deyna Castellanos penalty, and Maren Mjelde then put the hosts ahead from the spot in the second half.
Fran Kirby made it two with a composed effort before Berger was called into action once more, with a second penalty save late on coming after she had fouled Ludmila in the box.
And a sensational performance between the sticks was celebrated by Hayes, with the first save in particular praised, coming as it did at a critical time in the game.
“I think the first one [penalty save] was crucial, it was at a time when you can wonder how difficult the evening was going to be,” Hayes said.
“She [Berger] is outstanding at those things, I thought she did almost everything perfectly well tonight.
“I think we’ve got different strings to our bow. It isn’t about always playing high or aggressively, this is a team that can sit, protect spaces and manage in a compact manner and I thought we managed the situation really really well.”
Despite having to play for most of the game with one fewer player, Chelsea managed the game brilliantly and looked the greater threat.
Sam Kerr was lively throughout and won the penalty which Mjelde calmly converted, and Kirby was also excellent, capping her display with a smart finish as Hayes’ side now aim to convert their first leg lead into a last eight place in Monza next week.
“I’ve said to the team I’m so proud of them because the leadership in my group is unbelievable,” Hayes added.
“I don’t know how many teams would go down to ten against Atletico and do what we did and do it as well as we did.
“I think from front to back, left to right it was an outstanding team performance. I always bang on about our character and I think it showed.”
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