Seven of the eight teams in the Women’s Champions League have qualified for the quarterfinals with one match week left. The Blues exercised their demons in a convincing win over Vllaznia despite some disappointing play throughout to clinch a spot in the final eight of the competition that Emma Hayes has only dreamed of cracking the code to. Some may say that topping the group with the kind of field that is going to be out there in the next round does not matter all that much, but for CFC, who have not pieced together a full 90 minutes of football in quite some time, this is a chance to accumulate a whole lot of confidence against one of the top opponents in the entire continent.
Just a few weeks ago, the club announced that the fixture is going to be moved to Stamford Bridge. It will be the second time in just a month that CFCW has played in the stadium in which it belongs, and this time, it is under the lights against opposition that possesses far more quality than the Spurs side that came to west London in November. Paris Saint-Germain has not lost a match in the Champions League since its 1-0 loss to the Blues at home on the first matchday of the competition.
On top of piecing together consistent results in Europe’s top competition, PSG has found itself at the top of the league table, having defeated the mighty Lyon on the road through a scrappy Kadidiatou Diani goal from a corner kick in the final minutes. If the west Londoners want to finish atop the group, there cannot be any lapses throughout the course of the match against a team that is seeking to assert itself among the best in the world.
Whenever these two teams collide, a tightly contested battle is almost always the outcome. It took a unique Millie Bright finish from a cross in the first half to separate the two sides in Paris, and just a few years ago, a legendary Maren Mjelde goal gave CFC the edge on aggregate by just one goal.
Equipped with an attack led by Diani, 22-year-old French international, Sandy Baltimore, and former Blue Ramona Bachmann, Gerard Precheur and his PSG side have totaled 37 goals in all competitions with a 31.9 expected goals. Last time out in October, the Blues’ defense finally put their foot down having struggled in the beginning parts of the season, only allowing one shot on target through 90 minutes against Precheur’s side. On top of an experienced and creative attacking line, Ashley Lawrence and the Paris backline have allowed just one goal over the last seven games, shutting eight out of their last 10 opponents out.
Precheur and Hayes are both likely to play a strong side with the amount of recovery time during the break on the horizon and with the chance to see how each side actually matches up with a contender for the trophy in May. Bright and Magdelena Eriksson sat out the entire match against Vllaznia and should be ready to roll in a backline most likely alongside Kadeisha Buchanan and the former PSG player, Eve Perisset on the right wing.
It is difficult to pick out a perfect performance of any of the contests so far this season from the Blues, and despite that, the results are churning out on a regular basis. Not having put together a flawless performance in either the WSL or the Champions League is a good sign that things should begin to click in the future. Once Sam Kerr overcomes her uncharacteristic goal drought, there is not much the opposition can do to slow down CFC. Having not given its best outing at home against Hayes’ side in the previous meeting, PSG is bound to come out running, especially with passionate road fans making the trip to London.
Jelena Cankovic has been one step ahead of anybody else on the pitch in her last two starts, and while Ji So-yun departed the club over the summer, Chels’ may have found someone that can fill part of her role. Her passing display against Vllaznia, and intelligence at Kingsmeadow have been two of the most impressive individual outings of the season for the Blues so far this season. The ways that this roster can damage the opposition each time out are incredibly scary to look at with the talent the Hayes constructed all over the pitch.
Some may want to complain about CFC not having a complete performance under its resume so far this season and possibly underperforming at times, but many individuals have stood out in more ways than one. PSG is going to challenge the Blues at every level of the pitch, and players that have the ability to break the lines on a consistent basis like Cankovic and Sophie Ingle are going to play a major role. Being able to play at the Bridge for the second time in the season is a historic moment for the Chelsea Women.
You can see the smile on the faces of the players before, during, and after the match of the Blues when playing at the Bridge. It means a lot, and given the way they came out firing against Tottenham, the players know how to come out right from the jump in an environment of a larger stadium. PSG has to win by two or more goals in order to overtake the Blues at the top of the group due to the head-to-head record.
Precheur’s side has the potential to execute the job at hand, but when it comes down to it, Hayes and the Blues always seem to get up for matches at the Bridge. This match has the potential to be one of the biggest from a mentality standpoint for CFC even though qualification to the final eight is already confirmed. There have been positives, and there have been negatives, and against PSG under the lights, Chelsea is presented with a chance to put an emphatic stamp on 2022.