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45 min: Oh gosh it’s later than I thought. We are into nine minutes of added time.
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40 min: I think we are restarting at 40 minutes and Chelsea get immediately back into the box and Thompson’s chance is wide.
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Oh do we have a restart? The lights flash and the ball is back in play. Here we go again.
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The floodlights are on and the Disney + broadcast is back but the BBC one is still out. Players in huddles now with a big passage of added time coming in this first half.
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It was a power outage at Stamford Bridge. Both teams are now running to the sidelines. The game has paused while things start connecting again.
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Right just to update everyone, it seems they paused play as the technical equipment also went down at Stamford Bridge at the same time as the broadcasting coverage. The stream is now working again but the players are paused. An interesting development.
The referee stops play after a technical issue at the stadium. Photograph: John Walton/PAShare
Updated at 21.46 CET
39 min: The BBC feed is also down so I think it may be an issue at the ground in terms of signal or something else technical that I do not understand.
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37 min: Just as Chelsea move the ball forward once more a message comes up on Disney + saying ‘we’re experiencing technical difficulties, we’ll be right back’. I will bring you as many updates as I can.
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Updated at 21.38 CET
36 min: Thompson squares a perfect ball but no one is there to turn it home. Chelsea come again and Kaptein’s effort is palmed onto the post from Coll. That was oh so close to a goal.
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35 min: Boos rain down on the pitch as Barcelona take almost a minute to clear their lines from goal. The commentators believe Barca want Chelsea to come out of their shape to challenge them but the Blues are not falling for it… yet.
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33 min: Chelsea try and capitalise on their momentum with Baltimore firing it into the box but Barca do just enough for now to stop them.
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31 min: A lovely save from Coll as Kaptein is fed the ball but the hosts continue to pressure. Beever-Jones sends it in again but the keeper is wise to it.
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29 min: Chelsea now win a free kick after Leon fouls Thompson. It’s in a better position than Barca’s and the Blues get it to the edge of the box before Leon cleans up her own mess.
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28 min: Putellas wins a free kick after a foul from Baltimore but it’s by the halfway line so they will be building from deep. They run it back to Coll before hundreds of passes ensue.
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26 min: That was poor defensively from Chelsea, so many players just watching that fly past them. It is a good finish from Pajor but the Blues should have done more about that.
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GOAL: Chelsea 1-1 Barcelona (Pajor 24)
Pina pops the corner in and it’s a scramble in the box. Chelsea don’t get it clear and Pajor scores.
Ewa Pajor levels it for Barca. Photograph: Peter Cziborra/Action Images/ReutersShare
Updated at 21.29 CET
24 min: Despite Barca’s possession increasing, it is Chelsea who have the next chance. It comes into the box four times but the visitors keep calm heads to clear. Barca then create something themselves and win a corner.
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22 min: Barca are known for sustained possession but it feels like they are taking it to another level since conceding, their passes seem as though they are going in slow motion.
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20 min: Barca are patiently building up their attack and Girma is under immense pressure to get the ball out of the box, which she just manages to do. Barca win it back and Pajor thinks she has scored but she is offside. Close.
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18 min: Well, well. Who would have predicted this? Of course it is early in the game but it is Barcelona’s to chase.
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Chelsea break with Beever-Jones finding Carpenter. The Australia star makes a fantastic run into the box and absolutely pelts it into the net. Game on.
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GOAL: Chelsea 1-0 Barcelona (Carpenter 16)
What a goal.
Ellie Carpenter scores a belter! Photograph: Harriet Lander/Chelsea FC/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 21.19 CET
16 min: Leon takes the corner and while the delivery was good it’s defended well by Beever-Jones.
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15 min: What a save from Peng after the brilliant Graham Hansen is a nuisance once again. The Norway international is alert to everything right now and makes a great run through. Peng concedes a corner.
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14 min: Chelsea are continually pressing here but the defensive line from Barca is so solid. It ends with Bronze booting it goalward and Coll collects. The visitors immediately react and Graham Hansen puts in a beauty of a ball which finds Pina but Peng reads it perfectly to collect.
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12 min: Baltimore makes a great move again to outsmart Graham Hansen but then the Norway international defends really well to get them out of jail once again.
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10 min: Baltimore does excellently down the left to gain some good territory but they can’t then create anything and the hosts run it all the way back to Peng.
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8 min: Thompson makes a great run and finds Beever-Jones. They switch back and forth before a loose touch sees the visitors out of danger. A nice spell from the Blues but their final touches just not enough.
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6 min: Chelsea’s high press is causing Barca some problems but they manage to skilfully weave themselves out of danger. They run it through the team to Pina but her shot is over the post.
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4 min: Barca have had the lions share of these opening exchanges but neither side have registered a shot yet. But Cuthbert now sens Kaptein on her way but the cross in is read well by Coll.
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2 min: If you have been following the WSL, Chelsea’s form has dropped of late despite being unbeaten. While Barca have grown game-on-game this season in Liga F. It would be a shock if the Blues came away with a win tonight.
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Updated at 21.03 CET
Kick-off: Chelsea 0-0 Barcelona
Here we go.
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I’d love to hear from you and if you have read one of my blogs before you will know I love a bit of snack chat. Let me know what you’re digging into while this box office match plays out.
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The other two English teams in the competition played yesterday with two very different outcomes. You can get up to date with those here:
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Earlier today Twente lost 4-0 to Atletico Madrid. There will be two other 8pm GMT kick-offs this evening which I will try to keep you updated with as OH Leuven take on Roma and PSG play Bayern Munich.
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Here’s an interview with the Chelsea captain Millie Bright, who starts from the bench this evening:
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Updated at 20.32 CET
Barcelona and Chelsea are the two teams with the joint-best defensive record in the Women’s Champions League this season as they have each only conceded once.
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Barcelona manager Pere Romeu said on the Blues: “Beating Chelsea is difficult, but doing it again is even harder. The last times, we achieved it thanks to our style of play, and if we have a complete performance tomorrow, we’ll be closer to winning again.”
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Chelsea boss Sonia Bompastor said about Barcelona: “Every game against Barcelona is a big challenge, I don’t feel any different this season compared to previous seasons.”
“They are a really good team, but I also trust the quality we have in our squad. We are expecting the game to be a top game, but we are ready for the challenge and we’ll focus also on ourselves.”
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The team news is in. Sam Kerr is out and Lauren James features from the bench for the hosts with the goalkeeper Livia Peng as Hannah Hampton is still injured.
Chelsea: Peng, Bronze, Bjorn, Girma, Baltimore, Carpenter, Kaptein, Walsh, Cuthbert, Thompson, Beever-Jones.
Bench: Spencer, Bright, Buurman, Nusken, Macario, James, Rytting Kaneryd, Charles, Jean-Francois, Hamano, Potter.
Photograph: Molly Darlington/UEFA/Getty Images
For Barcelona, the two players who have played a part in every game against Chelsea feature in Caroline Graham Hansen and Aitana Bonmati.
Barca: Coll, Paredes, Leon, Aleixandri, Pina, Graham Hansen, Putellas, Bonmati, Pajor, Batlle, Brugts.
Bench: Gemma, Sydney, Serrajordi, Kika, Vicky, Aicha, Cano, Fenger, Txell Font, Carla Julia.
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Preamble
Hello and welcome to the Women’s Champions League match between Chelsea and Barcelona. A win for either side this evening could see them jump to the top of the table which would supplant Lyon, who are currently top with 10 points.
Barcelona will be the heavy favourites despite Chelsea being at home. Last season the two teams played one another in the Champions League semi-finals, in home and away legs, with Chelsea losing 8-2 on aggregate.
But the Blues do have home advantage and they have not lost a game since the last time the two teams played each other at Stamford Bridge in April.
There will be team news to bring you shortly but what we know so far is that Lauren James could be involved for Chelsea, while Sam Kerr has been ruled out of the fixture. Stay tuned for more updates before kick-off at 8pm GMT.
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Updated at 20.57 CET
