Häcken 0-0 Chelsea: Bompastor's team misfire in Women's Champions League stalemate

Chelsea's attackers were frustrated for the second time in three days as Sonia Bompastor's side drew 0-0 with Häcken in the Women's Champions League.

The Blues had dominated without reward in a 1-1 draw with Everton on Saturday, a result that saw them surrender top spot in the Women's Super League.

And there was no way through for them in Sweden, with Wieke Kaptein and Melvine Malard having goals disallowed and Lucy Bronze and Maika Hamano both hitting the woodwork, while Häcken could even have won the game through Maja Bodin late on.

The tone was set early on as Chelsea immediately got on top, with Kaptein's flicked finish being chalked off due to Lexi Potter interfering with goalkeeper Jennifer Falk from an offside position.

Livia Peng was on her toes to keep out Tilde Karlsson's effort at the other end, but that was a rare foray forward for Häcken, with the offside flag denying Chelsea again after Malard slotted past Falk.

Bronze saw an effort deflect off Emma Ostlund and bounce onto the crossbar shortly before half-time, and Chelsea's shooting boots were still missing after the break.

Falk stretched to block Ellie Carpenter's effort, and when the ball came back to the Australian on the rebound, she sliced wildly off-target.

Häcken's Alva Selerud was close to catching Peng off her line, though the hosts' best chance fell to Bodin, who danced across the area but saw Peng narrow the angle and smother her shot effectively.

Chelsea's last real opportunity came in the first of six added minutes, but a looping attempt from Hamano bounced off the top of the crossbar, summing up their attacking efforts.

Chelsea kept out

Bompastor said ahead of Tuesday's game that the quick turnaround from Saturday's draw with Everton could be a positive thing, allowing Chelsea to rediscover their groove ahead of facing Manchester City in the WSL this weekend.

Instead, the Blues' same problems in attack persisted, as they fired off 27 shots but hit 21 of those off-target.

Häcken only had four shots, three of which were on target, and the expected goals (xG) battle finished 1.92 to 0.38 in the visitors' favour.

Though Chelsea are still unbeaten in this season's Champions League, and have only lost one of their last 34 group or league-stage games dating back to 2021 (W24 D9), they may look back on this result with some regret if they miss out on the top four.

The Blues now have eight points on the board after four matches, but if there is a silver lining, it is the fact they have kept five straight clean sheets in the Champions League for just the second time, having previously done so at the start of 2018-19.