UEFA Women's Champions League tactical analysis: How Chelsea unlocked Barcelona
Friday, November 21, 2025
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UEFA Technical Observer Nora Häuptle analyses Chelsea's approach against Barcelona on UEFA Women's Champions League Matchday 4.
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UEFA Technical Observer Nora Häuptle analyses Chelsea's positional play and double-pass dynamics as they held Barcelona on Matchday 4 of the UEFA Women's Champions League.
Chelsea's attacking approach was underpinned by a clear structural plan and precise execution in wide areas, particularly through the use of double passes and transitional exploitation.
"Chelsea's game plan in possession was designed to attract Barcelona's five front players and create space to exploit," explained Häuptle. "By positioning the wing-backs in-between lines, Chelsea aimed to bind and shift Barça's full-backs, opening pockets to attack.
"The team consistently looked to access the space behind those full-backs, either by sending the strikers, especially Agnes Beever-Jones, into deep 1v1 situations, or by allowing the wing-backs to penetrate, with Ellie Carpenter combining through double passes and Sandy Baltimore engaging her defender 1v1. The approach relied on finishing actions with drive and bravery."
Häuptle continued: "The effectiveness of Chelsea's double passes came from a clear, repeatable structure that consistently disrupted Barça's wide defensive line through the wing-back's positioning, creating an elongated defensive route for the Barça full-back and preventing her from getting immediate contact. Chelsea then used the midfielder as a wall player, enabling a clean give-and-go that let the wing-back gain the advantage in the very first metre after playing the pass.
"Once that initial separation was created, the wing-back accelerated aggressively along a direct angle toward goal. Carpenter’s excellent acceleration and speed in driving the ball amplified the advantage."
"We had the better chances in the game, and I am really proud of my players and their mindset," Chelsea coach Sonia Bompastor told UEFA. "[My players] were able to apply the game plan in a perfect way.
"We played with pace, and pace enough to hurt [Barcelona] in some transitional moments," Bompastor added. "Ellie [Carpenter]'s was a perfect finish. She's working a lot on that finishing; she gets higher up the pitch and can break defensive back lines, and when she’s in that position she’s able to score."
Coaching observation: Tools to break down opponents via double passes
Häuptle highlights the key coaching points that help players make double-pass situations more effective.
"Key elements for player development in this area include creating 2v1 or 2v2 situations and effectively fixing or binding the opposition before playing forward," she noted. "Players should work on the timing of the ball release, understanding when to slow the action and when to accelerate. This connects directly to improving their rhythm and ability to burst into the space behind the opposition, followed by running the straightest possible angle toward goal to fully exploit the advantage created."
A former Swiss international with playing experience in both Switzerland and the Netherlands, Nora Häuptle has coached in her home country as well as Germany and Ghana, and is now head coach of the Zambia women's national team.
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