Chelsea 0-0 BK Hacken FF – Blues frustrated in goalless draw at home against Hacken, Swedes stay top of group

Chelsea missed the chance to go top of their Women’s Champions League group as they were held to a frustrating 0-0 draw by a disciplined BK Hacken side that offered very little in attack but escape Stanford Bridge with a point.

Hacken have been the surprise package in Group D with two wins from two against Real Madrid and Paris FC before arriving in London, but Chelsea dominated possession for the whole game looking to press the Swedish side into submission.

But for all Chelsea huffed and puffed, Hacken limited their hosts to few clear-cut chances on goal, the best coming when Sam Kerr stuck the ball in the net with a superb looping header that was rightly ruled out for offside.

Kerr never really got into a rhythm with a disjointed Chelsea attack but Lauren James brought plenty of impetus from the bench after Emma Hayes demoted her following a difficult week in the aftermath of Chelsea’s 4-1 defeat to Arsenal.

James was unable to cap a bright performance with that all-important goal, but Chelsea remain a clear second in the group and will have another chance to overtake Hacken next week in the return fixture after Paris FC beat Real Madrid earlier.

Hacken certainly aren’t a defence to be taken lightly – they conceded just 10 times in 26 league games last season with the second and third-meanest teams almost in a different galaxy at 16 and 27 goals conceded.

But Chelsea succeeded on prising the miserly Swedes open on several occasions and just couldn’t capitalise as Jennifer Falk pulled a couple of fine saves, most notably sprinting out to deny Johanna Rytting Kaneryd, though her compatriot was subsequently called offside.

Aside from Kerr’s disallowed goal, Erin Cuthbert had the best chance of the game but couldn’t steer a difficult volley under the bar when faced with an empty net.

Hacken improved slightly in the second half with the introduction of the energetic Monica Allonia Jusu Bah while fellow substitute Aisha Masaka looked set to steal all three points when she raced away for a one-on-one with just a few minutes to go.

But the Tanzanian also found herself on the wrong end of the line judge’s flag, and Chelsea will remain the favourites travelling to Sweden next week.

James found herself at the centre of another stamp-troversy this week when she was lucky to escape a red card after lashing out at Lia Walti in frustration, an incident worryingly similar to her World Cup moment of madness against Nigeria.

Hayes admitted the attacker “wasn’t in a good place mentally” just 24 hours before the Hacken game and despite also slamming the Beckham-eque negativity towards James, opted to drop the 22-year-old to the bench for the European clash.

However, the crowd roared her onto the pitch with 25 minutes to go and she immediately stamped her authority on the game, looking play direct and take on the Hacken defenders with the ball at her feet.

She was often successful too, creating chances when cutting in from either flank that just needed a teammate to get a touch onto in the goalmouth and turn into the net.

She also found joy dropping back into a quarterback-like role too, sitting 30 or 40 yards out and pinging it aerially to Chelsea forwards looking to break off the last defender and nudge a header goalwards.

That was how Kerr’s no-goal came about, and it’d be a surprise if James wasn’t hurried back into Chelsea’s starting attack as soon as possible.

Only played 26 minutes, but did more in that quarter of the game than any other Chelsea player did in the full game. Guro Reiten was the other candidate, the Norwegian was lively right from kick-off as Chelsea opened with an early blitz of their opponents but also didn’t complete the 90 minutes.

She combined well with Kirby – who needed treatment early on but was unable to continue, while Rytting Kaneryd’s movement also caused problems in the first half.

But that energy soon seemed to peter out from Chelsea and their attacking play in the second half was increasingly one-dimensional – until James entered the fray.

Chelsea: Musovic 7, Perisset 5, Buchanan 7, Carter 6, Charles 6, Cuthbert 7, Ingle 6, Rytting-Kaneryd 6, Kirby 6, Reiten 7, Kerr 6. Subs: Nusken 6, James 8, Beever-Jones 7, Fischel 6

BK Hacken: Falk 7, Kosola 7, Rybrink 7, Luik 6, Junttila-Nethage 6, Bergman-Lundin 6, Fossdala Sorensen 5, Anvegard 5, Kafaji 5, Sandberg 5, Larisey 5. Subs: Jusu Bah 7, Masaka 7, Schroder 6, Grant 6

5’ – SO CLOSE! The set-piece came to nothing but the Blues are soon back at it, Rytting Kaneryd played Kirby in and her sliding effort drifted agonisingly wide with keeper Jennifer Falk well beaten. Unfortunately, Kirby stays down and calls for assistance holding her right leg.

16’ – SIGNS OF LIFE: Hacken have a shot! It all broke rather quickly in contrast to Chelsea’s slow build-up, Larisey came short to receive the ball from defence, then fed Kafaji on the halfway line and exploded away from the Chelsea defence to receive the return-ball. She can’t capitalise though, turning a weak shot towards Zecira Musovic that’s no trouble for the Swede.

28’ – HOW DIDN’T THEY SCORE?!? So so close! Cuthbert again dispossessed the visitors in midfield before playing in Reiten on the left for a one-on-one. Falk bet the house on sprinting about 15 yards out from goal to close down the Norwegian, who cleverly plays it back across to Cuthbert who has an open goal. But the pass was at a difficult height and Cuthbert’s volley hammers against the crossbar and just drops onto the line, before Hacken scramble it to safety in a four-player aerial battle just a yard out from the net. That’s the closest Chelsea have come so far but it’s still 0-0.

40’ – HACKEN CLOSE: It’s their first meaningful spell of possession in Chelsea’s half and only took 40 minutes, but that was a genuinely well-worked chance for Hacken. Anna Anvegard met a cross first-time and was able to turn the ball goalwards, just without any poer and it’s another simple save for Musovic.

61’ – KERR HITS THE WOODWORK: They’re getting closer. This time it’s Sam Kerr who meets a corner and attempt to flick it goalwards, but it agonisngly arcs onto the top of the crossbar and Hacken survive again with half an hour left.

72’ – GOAL… DISALLOWED! CHELSEA 0-0 BK HACKEN: Lauren James this, Lauren James that, this time she’s back in the quarterback position and lifts a ball in for Sam Kerr to meets it with a perfect header that arches over Falk and into the top corner. But the keeper’s given a reprieve as she sinks her head into her hands, Kerr had just snuck offside so it remains 0-0.

Just 65% pass accuracy and 29% possession for Hacken.

Chelsea racked up a staggering 22 shots but only steered five on target.