Ten-player Chelsea overcame Atletico Madrid 2-0 in the UEFA Women’s Champions League Round of 16 1st leg at Kingsmeadow.
Pernille Harder went close for Chelsea in the opening seconds and Ji So-yun might have scored before Hedvig Lindahl tipped a Harder strike over the bar.
However, Sophie Ingle conceded a penalty when catching Rasheedat Ajibade in the box and was shown a red card. Ann-Katrin Berger came to the rescue for the Blues, saving the spot-kick from Deyna Castellanos, with Beth England clearing the loose ball.
Chelsea won a penalty of their own on 56 minutes when Aïssatou Tounkara brought down Sam Kerr, Maren Mjelde firing just beyond the reach of Lindahl to open the scoring.
They increased their lead midway through the second half, Fran Kirby on a surging run saw her shot come back off the post but when the hosts got the ball back in the box, Kirby met Kerr’s pass with a first-time shot in off the upright.
A third penalty of the night came ten minutes from time when Berger collided with Ludmila but got to her feet to again save the spot-kick, this time taken by Merel van Dongen.
The second leg is being staged in Italy next Wednesday afternoon, with the game live on BT Sport 2 at 12.30pm.
