Ellie Carpenter nets for Chelsea yet Barcelona cling to draw in Womens Champions League

Barcelona surrendered their unblemished run in the Womens Champions League but seized the summit on goal difference after a gritty 1-1 stalemate against Chelsea during matchday four at Stamford Bridge on Thursday.

Down the standings, Paris Saint-Germain tumbled to the foot with a fourth consecutive setback, falling 3-1 on home turf to Bayern Munich.

Barcelona have ruled past clashes with Chelsea, suffering defeat just once across eight encounters. They ousted the London side from the Champions League over the previous three campaigns, crushing them last season with an 8-2 aggregate tally.

On this occasion though, they were lucky to snag a share of the spoils as Chelsea rediscovered their sharpness, absent thus far this term in Europe and domestically.

Aussie star Ellie Carpenter put Chelsea ahead in the 16th minute, blasting from the boxes edge after Aggie Beever-Jones released her around midfield.

The Spaniards equalised shortly after, in the 24th minute, when Claudia Pinas corner sparked chaos in the Chelsea penalty area. The ball eventually reached Ewa Pajor who rifled it beyond Livia Peng into the top right corner.

After that, Chelsea generated the prime opportunities. Prior to the break, Wieke Kaptein struck the posts interior following a neat pass from Alyssa Thompson.

Post interval, replacement Catarina Macario saw a strike ruled out for a tight offside call, while Carpenter, faced with an open goal, pulled her effort narrowly astray.

This result propels Chelsea to sixth place, though Bayern overtook them after dismantling PSG in the French capital.

PSG skipper Sakina Karchaoui handed her team an ideal opener in the 16th minute but moments later, Linda Dallmann restored parity for the Germans.

Shortly past the 30-minute mark, Momoko Tanikawa pierced the PSG backline before slotting home, with Jovana Damnjanovic sealing the victory a minute shy of full time.

Atletico Madrid rose to eighth with a 4-0 triumph over Twente, featuring goals from Amaiur Sarriegi and Julia Bartel before the break, plus efforts from Synne Jensen and Fiamma afterwards.

Roma earned their initial point via a 1-1 tie at Leuven. Evelyne Viens opened the scoring for the visitors in the 18th minute, yet Jada Conijnenbergs 71st-minute spot-kick ensured the spoils were divided.