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29 min: Cuthbert has now returned to the pitch. It will be interesting to see how Chelsea respond to conceding, Häcken stuck to their game and chose their moments to attack after Kerr opened the scoring but can Chelsea keep composed? Their defence isn’t the best this season, they crumbled against Arsenal a few weeks ago.
27 min: There was great build-up from Häcken, a patient play from the hosts and then they unlocked their attack. A huge pass to Jusu Bah sees her cross into Larisey who hits home. Incredible and the sold-out crowd are lively again.
GOAL! Häcken 1-1 Chelsea (Larisey, 26)Wow, what a counter attack.
25 min: Cuthbert is gingerly walking off the pitch, I am unsure if she will be replaced or if she is just walking to the sidelines as she has had treatment. No replacement has been announced so I think she will return to the pitch shortly.
23 min: Cuthbert is down injured after she was tackled by Sorensen, who gets a yellow card for the foul. Cuthbert is receiving extensive treatment, hopefully she is okay to continue.
22 min: The corner is taken short but it comes in for James, Häcken do well to clear and Larisey looks to break but the visitors do enough to track back and quell the danger.
21 min: Lawrence reads a play well and Larisey tries to find Jusu Bah, that combination is working for the hosts. Chelsea counter and Kaneryd finds herself in a one-on-one with the keeper but Falk does well to collect. Chelsea quickly win it back and it is the good work of Kaneryd again that wins a corner.
19 min: That is a lovely move from Häcken, Larisey turns and gets a cross in but it doesn’t meet a teammate and Chelsea are able to clear.
17 min: It’s a poor delivery and Junttila-Nelhage it able to clear but concedes another corner, this time the delivery is better but Falk confidently collects.
16 min: Chelsea are revving and going through the gears now, Cuthbert takes a shot but it’s cleared, it’s popped back in with Kerr the aim but the hosts see it out for another corner.
15 min: Kaneryd did great work on the edge of the box to have some space to cross to Kerr, the captain took a one-touch finish and they lead.
GOAL! Häcken 0-1 Chelsea (Kerr, 14′)Chelsea come again and it’s the captain!
Sam Kerr (centre) celebrates after putting Chelsea at Hacken. Photograph: Peter Sonander/SPP/Shutterstock14 min: Lawrence gives away a free kick for a foul on Jusu Bah, it’s deep in Häcken’s half so they will have to build and they do just that. Jusu Bah is fed the ball on the edge of the area but she is smothered by Chelsea players who clear. This time it is the Blues’ turn to counter and Reiten pops a cross in but James is a whisker away from finishing.
12 min: Just as I mention goalkeepers Falk is called into action. Chelsea have a lot of play in and around the box, it eventually comes to James and she loops a curling effort on target but Falk pushes it over the bar for a corner. Cuthbert has a good delivery but it is initially headed away, it comes back in twice but each time Häcken repel the threat.
10 min: The battle of the goalkeepers continues this week as two of Sweden’s keepers – Falk and Musovic – are in goal this evening. Neither have really been tested this evening yet, last week Falk was impressive and Musovic did not have a lot to do. There’s a break in play here as Larisey is down injured but she is back to her feet and can continue.
8 min: Chelsea’s defence quickly looks a bit desperate, the ball comes to Kaneryd and she rifles off a long range effort that is well wide. Häcken look to counter and Kafaji tries to find Jusu Bah but Lawrence reads it well to shut down the chance – a really lively start.
6 min: Kafaji does really well to beat two defenders and she unlocks the hosts’ attack. Larisey is fed the ball and Anvegard crosses a lovely ball but no one can finish the chance! Chelsea are quick to counter and Kerr finds herself in the box but she is tackled, she stays on the floor for a moment but she is okay to continue.
4 min: Reiten screams for a foul with arms in the air but the referee doesn’t give anything, Chelsea are still with the ball though and are pressing for the opener. It will be another long night for Häcken’s defence. It functions once more as Carter’s pass goes out of play.
2 min: Reiten with a blistering run to start things off but she opts to pass backwards, Chelsea eventually work it forwards again but Häcken do well to intercept and quell the danger.
Kick-off! Häcken 0-0 ChelseaSo here we go! The winner this evening will finish the year top of the group. The stadium is sold-out, 6,000 fans in – the atmosphere is electric.
The Chelsea players seem to be looking forward to kick-off. Photograph: Harriet Lander/Chelsea FC/Getty ImagesOnly five minutes until kick-off in Sweden. Chelsea need a big 90 minutes if they are going to break down Häcken and Jusu Bah caused a lot of headaches for Chelsea’s defence when she came on in the second half last week. Remember if Häcken win this evening they would have enough points to progress to the next round.
Chelsea manager Emma Hayes has said in the build-up: “Every game is a must-win game for us. That is our mentality. We were disappointed with our performance last week. We worked on that, trained really well, played well at the weekend. This place will be rocking tomorrow night. This is going to be a difficult place to play. We are playing an opponent who are very confident in what they’re doing. They’ve had an amazing year, especially in the Champions League, and we have to deal with all of those challenges. But we have to be ready to perform.”
Photograph: Ryan Hiscott/Getty ImagesThe earlier kick-offs have finished and there is a huge result for Ajax as they have seen out their 1-0 scoreline to take all three points. In Italy Roma lost 3-1 to PSG, the match included a goal from Katoto who has returned from her ACL injury she sustained at the Euros.
Ajax Amsterdam players celebrate their victory over Bayern Munich. Photograph: Piroschka van de Wouw/ReutersHave you been listening to our weekly women’s football podcast? It has great insight into the game with superb analysis. This week’s delves into Tottenham’s north London derby win over Arsenal, listen here:
As Christmas is coming up I thought a pun-off would be a good idea. Send me your best Christmas come football puns via email or X and I’ll pop them on the blog. I’ll decide my favourite after full-time.
If you want a recap of all the action that took place when Chelsea and Häcken met last week, have a read of the report:
Ajax v Bayern Munich currently stands at 1-0 to the hosts, while PSG are beating Roma 2-0. I will let you know the full-time scores when those games concluded in around 20 minutes.
There are three other Women’s Champions League fixtures happening today. Ajax v Bayern Munich and Roma v PSG kicked off at 5.45pm GMT and I will be bringing you all the updates from those games shortly. The other match, Real Madrid v Paris FC, starts at 8pm GMT and it’s a crucial game for the Spanish side – if they lose they will risk their progress to the knock-out phase as they are currently bottom of their group
The team news is in. Häcken have made two changes to the team who played Chelsea a week ago with Jusu Bah and Curmark coming in.
Häcken: Falk, Kosola, Rybrink, Luik, Junttila-Nelhage, Curmark, Sorensen, Anvegard, Kafaji, Jusu Bah, Larisey
Chelsea, meanwhile, have also made two changes from last week with Lawrence and James starting.
Chelsea: Musovic, Lawrence, Buchanan, Carter, Charles, Cuthbert, Ingle, Kaneryd, James, Reiten, Kerr.
Photograph: Ryan Hiscott/Getty ImagesPreambleGood evening and welcome back to the Women’s Champions League. Tonight Häcken welcome Chelsea in the reverse fixture of their European encounter last week.
At Stamford Bridge, Häcken frustrated Chelsea as the Blues had 23 shots but the match ended 0-0. The result meant the Swedish side remained top of the group and unbeaten in the competition but Emma Hayes’ team will be hoping to end 2023 on a high.
Chelsea changed their fortunes last weekend with a 3-0 win over Bristol City in the Women’s Super League after the draw against Häcken and a 4-1 loss to Arsenal in the league. They will be looking to come away with all three points but their opponents are difficult to break down.
Häcken also have extra motivation to win this game, if they come away with all three points they will be through to the knock-outs.
Before we delve more into the build-up to the fixture, which kicks off at 8pm GMT, let’s take a look at the team news.