Chelsea Women Player Ratings Vs Celtic Wieke Kaptein Erin Cuthbert Dominate As Wasteful Blues Survive Early Scare In Unexpectedly Narrow Champions League Win

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Chelsea women player ratings vs Celtic: Wieke Kaptein & Erin Cuthbert dominate as wasteful Blues survive early scare in unexpectedly narrow Champions League win
Chelsea women player ratings vs Celtic: Wieke Kaptein & Erin Cuthbert dominate as wasteful Blues survive early scare in unexpectedly narrow Champions League win from

Chelsea Women Player Ratings vs. Celtic: Wieke Kaptein & Erin Cuthbert Dominate as Wasteful Blues Survive Early Scare in Unexpectedly Narrow Champions League Win

Chelsea Survive Scare to Claim Narrow Win

Chelsea Women earned a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Celtic in the first leg of their Champions League round-of-32 tie on Wednesday evening. Despite taking an early lead, the Blues were pegged back twice by the Scottish champions before eventually securing the win thanks to goals from Erin Cuthbert and Wieke Kaptein.

Wasteful Blues

Chelsea started the match brightly and took the lead through Sam Kerr in the 11th minute. However, they failed to build on their advantage and were punished by Celtic, who equalized through Jacynta Galabadaarachchi in the 22nd minute. Fran Kirby restored Chelsea's lead just before half-time, but again, the Blues were unable to extend their advantage.

Kaptein and Cuthbert Star

In the second half, Celtic continued to cause problems for Chelsea, and they deservedly equalized for a second time through Sarah Teegarden in the 64th minute. Just when it looked like the match was heading for a draw, Kaptein and Cuthbert stepped up. Kaptein put Chelsea ahead for the third time in the 76th minute, and Cuthbert sealed the win with a fine solo effort in the 85th minute.

Player Ratings

**GK Ann-Katrin Berger - 6.5** Made a couple of good saves, but could have done better with Celtic's second goal. **DF Niamh Charles - 6** Struggled at times defensively, but got forward well. **DF Millie Bright - 7** Solid performance from the England international. **DF Magdalena Eriksson - 7** Another strong display from Chelsea's captain. **DF Maren Mjelde - 6.5** Defended well for the most part, but was caught out of position for Celtic's first goal. **MF Sophie Ingle - 6** Tidy in possession, but didn't offer enough going forward. **MF Erin Cuthbert - 8** Scored a superb goal and was a constant threat to the Celtic defense. **MF Guro Reiten - 6.5** Created a number of chances, but her final ball was often lacking. **MF Fran Kirby - 7** Scored a well-taken goal and was involved in much of Chelsea's attacking play. **FW Sam Kerr - 7** Scored a clinical goal to open the scoring. **FW Bethany England - 6** Missed a couple of good chances and was eventually replaced by Wieke Kaptein. **Substitutes:** **Wieke Kaptein - 7.5** Scored the winning goal and was a threat every time she got on the ball. **Jonna Andersson - 6** Added some energy to the Chelsea midfield. **Alsu Abdullina - 6** Didn't have much time to make an impact.

Conclusion

Chelsea will be relieved to have secured the win in the first leg, but they will be aware that they need to improve their performance in the second leg. The Blues were wasteful in front of goal and were fortunate not to concede more goals. They will need to be more clinical and more solid defensively if they want to progress to the next round.