Häcken 0-0 Chelsea: Falk defies Bompastor’s side as Blues dominate but draw a blank
Häcken 0-0 Chelsea: Jennifer Falk made five saves as Sonia Bompastor's side had 78% of the ball in Gothenburg but could not find a way through.
Häcken 0-0 Chelsea ended goalless in Gothenburg on Tuesday, as Jennifer Falk and a stubborn home defence held Sonia Bompastor’s side despite Chelsea having 78% of the ball.
The point keeps Chelsea unbeaten in this season’s Women’s Champions League and stretches their run without conceding to four matches. But after a 1-1 draw with Everton in the Women’s Super League on Saturday, it is now two games in a row in which the Blues have dropped points.
Häcken 0-0 Chelsea: one-way traffic, no breakthrough
Bompastor rotated, with Livia Peng in goal behind a back three of Lucy Bronze, Nathalie Björn and Veerle Buurman. Keira Walsh and Wieke Kaptein ran midfield, with Alyssa Thompson, Melvine Malard and Sjoeke Nüsken further forward.
Chelsea camped in the Häcken half from the start. Malard forced Falk into a save midway through the first half, and Walsh had another effort kept out on the stroke of half-time.
The best chance came two minutes after the restart. Ellie Carpenter found space seven yards out but sent her shot wide, moments after Malard had again been denied. Thompson was then thwarted just before the hour, and Bronze headed over midway through the second half.
Häcken barely threatened, but Maja Bodin had a late chance to snatch it with three minutes left and could not keep her effort on target.
The key numbers
| Häcken | Chelsea | |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 22% | 78% |
| Shots on target | 3 | 6 |
| Expected goals (xG) | 0.38 | 2.16 |
| Corners | 2 | 13 |
| Saves | 5 | 3 |
| Accurate passes | 117 | 615 |
Those figures tell the story: 13 corners to two, more than 600 completed passes and an xG of 2.16, yet nothing to show for it. Falk, the Sweden goalkeeper, made five saves and organised a deep back line superbly.
What it means in the table
Chelsea move on to eight points from four games, with two wins and two draws, and three goals scored without reply. That is enough to lift them into second place, behind Barcelona, at least until the rest of matchday four is played.
Our Häcken v Chelsea preview flagged how hard Elena Sadiku’s Swedish champions are to break down, and so it proved. Häcken pick up a second point of the campaign and remain without a win in the league phase.
The rest of the night’s action sees two more title contenders in action, with Manchester City chasing a first win away to Inter and PSG hosting Bayern Munich in Paris.
What next for Chelsea
Chelsea were again without Lauren James and Naomi Girma, and the lack of a cutting edge will worry Bompastor with the WSL title race finely poised. A reset over the international break may be welcome.
Away from the pitch, the club has been busy with culture as well as football: our sister site DGBN has covered how King Promise and Chelsea joined forces on a new Afrobeats anthem.
