Chelsea knew how to manage their clear lead well in the second leg of the Women's Champions League quarter-final and moved into the semi-finals thanks to a fair draw with Ajax Amsterdam.
There was cause for celebration on Wednesday evening: the women of Chelsea FC.
imago/paimages
Ajax Amsterdam came to Stamford Bridge on the back of a 3-0 defeat in the first leg and wanted to take control from the start in order to take the lead as quickly as possible. But the Blues had a good first chance. Following a Beaver Jones cross, captain Cuthbert fired the ball wide with a direct pass (9). As a result, the match featured many chances for both teams, but the best of them came by chance. Because Hoekstra ran aggressively towards Chelsea goalkeeper Mosovic, the goalkeeper opened fire on the Ajax striker and almost caused the result. Only the post prevented visitors from taking the initiative (19).
Ramirez puts Chelsea ahead and Grant equalizes
Chelsea got better and better and finally took the lead: after Cuthbert had won the ball with a tackle, Ritten caught the ball and passed it across the penalty area to Mayra Ramírez, who gave Ajax goalkeeper van Eyck no chance (33rd). After the break, there was a long period of inactivity as Chelsea focused on managing their narrow lead, while Ajax took the lead but lacked imagination in the final third. In the 65th minute, Mosovic was forced to admit defeat for the first time when Grant scored a deserved equalizer after a through ball from Hoekstra.
Only in the final stage did the guests pose any danger again. While Musovic made two wonderful saves (81 and 89), the crossbar prevented the London team from falling behind (84).
In the end, thanks to the clear result from the first leg, Chelsea moved to the semi-finals of the Women's Champions League, where either SK Brann or Champions League champions FC Barcelona await.
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