Chelsea vs Ajax LIVE: Women’s Champions League latest score and goal updates from quarter-final tonight


Chelsea are a game away from returning to the Women’s Champions League final four as Emma Hayes’s side take a three-goal lead into their quarter-final second-leg against Ajax at Stamford Bridge tonight. The English champions put on a clincial display in Amsterdam last week, with Sjoeke Nusken scoring twice to silence the home crowd as Chelsea claimed an impressive 3-0 win.

Chelsea are bidding to win the Women’s Champions League for the first time, in what would be a dream end to Hayes’s hugely successful time at the club. The Blues were beaten by Barcelona in last season’s semi-finals, and could yet face the Spanish giants and reigning European champions again in the final four. Barcelona hold a 2-1 lead over Brann in the other quarter-final of Chelsea’s section of the draw.

Chelsea will look to get the job done as they return to Stamford Bridge, before the Blues face Arsenal in Sunday’s League Cup final at Molineux.

Follow live updates from Chelsea vs Ajax in tonight’s live blog and get the latest match odds and Women’s Champions League tips, here.

Chelsea vs Ajax LIVE

Chelsea host Ajax in the Women’s Champions League, live on TNT Sports and DAZN

The Blues won the first leg 3-0 and have a comfortable lead ahead of the match at Stamford Bridge

Barcelona or Brann await the winner in the next round; Lyon beat Benfica (5-2 agg.)

32’ GOAL! Ramirez tucks finish through goalkeeper’s legs to add to Chelsea’s lead (1-0)

22’ CLOSE! Reiten shoots wide as both teams have chances in opening stages (0-0)

Chelsea XI: Musovic, Lawrence, Carter, Buchanan, Perisset, Cuthbert, Ingle, Reiten, Kirby, Beever-Jones, Ramirez

Ajax XI: Van Eijk, Kardinaal, Spitse, De Sanders, de Klonia, Noordam, van Gool, Van de Velde, Grant, Leuchter, Tiny Hoekstra

HALF TIME! Chelsea 1-0 Ajax (4-0 on agg.)

20:48 , Jamie Braidwood

An entertaining first half but it was crucial for Chelsea to get the first goal. There were some nervy moments, but they managed with Ramirez’s finish and Chelsea look comfortable.

One foot in the semi-finals.

(Action Images via Reuters)

Chelsea 1-0 Ajax (4-0 on agg.)

20:44 , Jamie Braidwood

42 mins: Chance! Almost a second from Ramirez and for Chelsea, after a great spell from Beever-Jones. The winger puts in a great ball across the face and Ramirez is an inch or two from sliding in to double Chelsea’s lead on the night.

GOAL! Chelsea 1-0 Ajax (4-0 on agg.)

20:35 , Jamie Braidwood

GOAL! Chelsea lead and it had been coming! Cuthbert slides in to win the ball in midfield and Reiten slides in Ramirez, who opens up her body and puts a clinical finish through to the legs of Van Eijk.

Great finish. And that takes the pressure off.

(Getty Images)

Chelsea 0-0 Ajax (3-0 on agg.)

20:27 , Jamie Braidwood

26 mins: Another opportunity! A lovely turn and pass from Ramirez releases Beever-Jones, who is through on goal! The ball gets caught up under her feet as Spitse recovers, and Beever-Jones is crowded out.

Chelsea 0-0 Ajax (3-0 on agg.)

20:23 , Jamie Braidwood

22 mins: WIDE! Chelsea go close this time! A brilliant run from Beever-Jones sets up Reiten on the left. The winger takes it first time on her left foot, but it glides past the post!

It’s end to end.

Chelsea 0-0 Ajax (3-0 on agg.)

20:20 , Jamie Braidwood

17 mins: WIDE! Oh my goodness… Chelsea are living dangerously, as we almost get a freak own goal! Cuthbert’s back-pass almost plays Musovic into trouble but the goalkeeper’s clearance cannons into the head of Ajax forward Hoekstra!

The ball trickles towards the empty Chelsea goal… but just dribbles wide of the post!

Chelsea 0-0 Ajax (3-0 on agg.)

20:18 , Jamie Braidwood

16 mins: CHANCE! Oooh – that could have been 1-0 Ajax. Chelsea’s don’t clear and Leuchter turns Buchanan well to break into the box. She fires low and across goal but it narrowly misses the far post.

Chelsea 0-0 Ajax (3-0 on agg.)

20:10 , Jamie Braidwood

9 mins: Close! And that was almost it! A good move from Chelsea as Beever-Jones is released on the right. She cuts it back and finds Curtbert arriving on the six-yard box, and her shot towards the near post is deflected wide! It should have been a corner as Cuthbert’s appeals.

Chelsea 0-0 Ajax (3-0 on agg.)

20:08 , Jamie Braidwood

8 mins: No sense of a dead-rubber here. Ajax need an early goal and there’s a quick tempo to the opening stages. It could suit Chelsea as they look to finish the tie off.

Chelsea 0-0 Ajax (3-0 on agg.)

20:05 , Jamie Braidwood

4 mins: Almost a disaster from Muscovic after the Chelsea goalkeeper passes straight out and gives possession away, but Chelsea are able to clear.

Then Spitse is caught but Kirby can’t quite find the ball through to Reiten.

Chelsea 0-0 Ajax (3-0 on agg.)

20:03 , Jamie Braidwood

3 mins: Chelsea concede an early corner and are caught sleeping as Ajax take it short. It ends with the returning Sherida Spitse heading over.

Zecira Musovic was scrambling back.

KICK-OFF! Chelsea vs Ajax (3-0 on agg.)

20:01 , Jamie Braidwood

1 min: Got to say, it’s far quieter tonight that it was the last time I was at Stamford Bridge, which was for Chelsea’s 3-1 over Arsenal in the WSL.

But we’re underway.

Chelsea vs Ajax (3-0 on agg.)

19:57 , Jamie Braidwood

Here we go! The players are out at Stamford Bridge and we are not long to kick-off now.

Can Chelsea return to the Champions League semi-finals? They are one step there, Now it’s about finishing the job.

‘Hearing the crowd is something I’ll never forget’

19:55 , Mike Jones

Chelsea Women are playing at Stamford Bridge again this evening, take a look at what it means for the women’s team to play at the club’s main ground:

How to watch Chelsea vs Ajax

19:53 , Jamie Braidwood

In the UK, the fixture will be broadcast live on TNT Sports and DAZN.com.

How do the teams compare?

19:50 , Mike Jones

Despite a hectic schedule for March, Chelsea have conjured a run of six consecutive victories in which they have scored 14 goals and kept five clean sheets.

They reclaimed the top spot of the Women’s Super League table with a victory over West Ham and progressed to the FA Cup semi-finals and League Cup final.

Ajax meanwhile occupy second place in the Eredivisie and trail pace setters FC Twente by four points in what appears to be a two-horse race for the Dutch title.

With only one league defeat to their name after 18 matches, the visitors will arrive in London determined to put up a fight and attempt to overturn their big deficit.

Erin Cuthbert still dreaming of first Champions League trophy with Chelsea

19:45 , Mike Jones

Cuthbert said: “It would mean everything to get to the final and to go on and win it. But you know, I’ve been at this club so long, it’s all about a process.

“I think we’re in the quarter-finals now. Tough games against a really tough team who have more than proved themselves at this level.

“So I think we’re under no illusions, it’s going to be a tough game tomorrow, but of course it’s hard not to dream a little bit. You are a football player, but at the same time I’ve been so well-drilled under Emma that it is very process-oriented.”

19:42 , Jamie Braidwood

This time last year, Chelsea were knocking out French heavyweights Lyon on penalties in a dramatic night at Stamford Bridge.

But there are no such problems this time around: Lyon are back in the semi-finals having beaten Benfica 3-1 in the south of France – 5-2 on aggregate.

They are the first side through and will play either Paris Saint-Germain or Bracken. The winner of Chelsea vs Ajax will take on either Barcelona or Brann.

(REUTERS)

Cuthbert on working with Hayes

19:35 , Mike Jones

“Emma [Hayes] knows how to get at me, that is for sure, over the course of the time working with her,” admitted Chelsea captain Erin Cuthbert.

“She knows how to provoke me and find a little bit of an animal inside me, and she knows that as well. She knows how to wind me up.

“But Sjoeke has been in brilliant form as well and we’ve needed her at this time in the season. Maybe I’m doing a bit more defensive work than she is but I think everyone’s going to have their moment this season.

“On Sunday it was mine and Aggie’s moment, the week before it was Sjoeke’s and we need everyone to contribute over this period when we have so many games. You have to be ready when that moment comes.”

Bakker on facing Chelsea

19:30 , Mike Jones

Ajax coach Suzanne Bakker said: “We know three goals is quite a big difference but as I said last week, the ball is round and everything is still possible.

“We want to show that we are quick to learn and that this is an extra experience for us. We’ve learned about defending inside the box, we will show that we have learned our lesson. “

Cuthbert on captaining Chelsea

19:25 , Mike Jones

Midfielder Erin Cuthbert is captaining Chelsea in the absence of Millie Bright and Sam Kerr who are both injured.

“It is taking more responsibility,” she said at Tuesday’s press conference. “Everyone looks to you and your behaviours on the pitch and I have to be super-conscious of what I’m doing, how I’m perceived, when maybe I haven’t really thought of that before.

“I need to take a bit more of a role off the pitch as well than I previously have.”

(Zac Goodwin/PA Wire)

Emma Hayes hails Sjoeke Nusken’s versatility

19:20 , Mike Jones

Emma Hayes hailed Sjoeke Nusken after the German scored her second brace in as many games during Chelsea’s 3-0 first-leg victory over Ajax in the Champions League quarter-finals.

The versatile forward came into the game on a high from her double in the Blues’ 3-1 win over title rivals Arsenal in the Women’s Super League on Friday.

Her double came after England winger Lauren James scored the opener at Johan Cruijff ArenA.

I might give her a game in goal – Emma Hayes hails Sjoeke Nusken’s versatility

‘Ajax have learned from first leg’

19:15 , Mike Jones

Ajax midfielder, Rosa van Gool, says her team have analysed where they went wrong in the first leg against Chelsea and hope to rectify their mistakes at Stamford Bridge this evening.

She said: “We started very well [in the first leg] and had a big chance early on. Then it became a bit more difficult down the middle and we started struggling a bit.

“But we’ve analysed it and learned from the situation, and I think we will be able to show that.”

Hayes’ Chelsea era won’t be defined by Champions League

19:10 , Mike Jones

During her tenure as manager of Chelsea Women Emma Hayes has won every trophy except the Women’s Champions League.

Her squad has come close a few times and has the ability to go all the way this season but Hayes, who is leaving the club at the end of the campaign, says that winning or losing the WCL will not define her legacy with the Blues.

“Of course if I was able to win the Champions League in my time here it would be another unbelievable achievement,” she said. “But I’ve said it time and time again, for my era to be defined by one competition is probably not what matters most to me.’”

Hayes on beating Ajax last time

19:05 , Mike Jones

Emma Hayes was simple when summing up what separated the sides when they last met in the Women’s Champions League and highlighted what makes the difference for Chelsea.

“I think we showed our experience for sure,” she said. “Calm, composed, even when it’s not perfect we keep our heads, good discipline.

“I think that was the big difference.”

Chelsea vs Ajax team news!

18:56 , Jamie Braidwood

Team news! Chelsea make six changes from the first leg but still look strong. Lauren James and Sjoeke Nusken drop to the bench and are rested ahead of Sunday’s cup final. Mayra Ramirez starts and leads the line, while there are also starts for Fran Kirby and Aggie Beever-Jones.

Chelsea XI: Musovic, Lawrence, Carter, Buchanan, Perisset, Cuthbert, Ingle, Reiten, Kirby, Beever-Jones, Ramirez

Ajax XI: Van Eijk, Kardinaal, Spitse, De Sanders, de Klonia, Noordam, van Gool, Van de Velde, Grant, Leuchter, Tiny Hoekstra

League Cup final not on Hayes’ mind

18:55 , Mike Jones

Emma Hayes has admitted that her team are fully focused on getting the job done against Ajax tonight in order to reach the WCL semi-finals and will not be distracted by the prospect of the League Cup final on Sunday.

“I’m not thinking about Sunday, I am only thinking about tomorrow,” she stated in a pre-match press conference ahead of the match.

“We know Ajax are going to come out and be aggressive. We’re expecting that as they have to. We’re prepared for the aggression and their learnings [from the first leg].

“They’re a good side and it’s important for us to keep all of our focus and attention on tomorrow.”

(Zac Goodwin/PA Wire)

Hayes not taking Ajax lightly

18:50 , Mike Jones

Emma Hayes insists Chelsea will not be taking Ajax lightly this evening despite holding a 3-0 lead in their Women’s Champions League quarter-final tie.

Ahead of the second leg at Stamford Bridge, Hayes said: “The fear of not being in that semi-final is as big a drive as our desire to win. In fact, it’s more.

“There is no one in our dressing room who will take tomorrow’s game lightly or think, just because we’re winning 3-0, that the game is over.

“That is a mistake. It all starts in your mind. When a team has nothing to lose, they play with freedom and they’re often the most dangerous opponents.”

Lauren James leads Chelsea’s stroll around Arsenal to take control of WSL title race

18:40 , Mike Jones

Perhaps Arsenal needed to spend longer browsing the Chelsea club shop. A collection of black Chelsea away socks, complete with blue trim and a white lion on the calf, may have been acquired at the last moment to prevent a kit-clash, but what Arsenal needed most was an answer to Lauren James. A half-hour delay to kick-off did not give Jonas Eidevall enough time to come up with a solution, either, though the rest of the Women’s Super League would have struggled on this form.

James was unstoppable, unplayable, once again turning Stamford Bridge into her personal playground as Chelsea moved a step closer to a fifth consecutive title with a 3-1 thrashing of their rivals. For Arsenal, being sent to the Chelsea megastore could have been put down as a minor embarrassment had they turned up for the delayed kick-off. Instead, Arsenal arrived for their biggest game of the season and ambled to a disorganised, incoherent display. But, really, enough about the socks.

Lauren James leads Chelsea’s stroll around Arsenal to take control of WSL title race

Will Hayes make changes?

18:35 , Mike Jones

With a looming League Cup final against Arsenal on the horizon this weekend, you may be forgiven in thinking Emma Hayes would not be keen to risk her main stars for tonight’s WCL second leg, especially with Chelsea holding a big aggregate lead.

However, the Chelsea manager says she does not intend on significantly rotating her squad and will be treating Ajax with the respect they deserve.

Hayes did report that defender Nathalie Bjorn is not available for the second leg having not completed a full training session on Tuesday morning.

Chelsea should ease through to semis

18:30 , Mike Jones

The Blues have already done the hard work in this quarter-final tie and now just need to see out the game at Stamford Bridge to punch their ticket to the semi-finals.

Emma Hayes’ team were excellent in Amsterdam, taking early control of the game through Lauren James before Sjoeke Nusken’s brace handed them complete command of the tie.

Ajax are going to need to produce something special to have any hope of advancing to the last four. They did score three goals in their win over PEC Zwolle in Eredivisie Women at the weekend, although they shipped three in return.

Chelsea are on a relentless run of form, winning their last six and conceding one goal in the process. Their one defeat at home this term came against Super League title rivals Manchester City on a day to forget for Hayes’ outfit.

Ramirez back for Blues?

18:25 , Mike Jones

Mayra Ramírez has recovered from injury and could make her first European appearance for Chelsea since her January move from Levante – for who she played in round 1 against Stjarnan and Ajax’s Dutch rivals Twente (losing 3-2 from 2-0 up).

Chelsea pass Ajax test to keep Emma Hayes on course for Women’s Champions League final send-off

18:20 , Mike Jones

Last time out against Ajax, Chelsea cruised to a dominant and healthy 3-0 win. Here’s how they did it:

The climax of Emma Hayes’ dynasty is fast approaching and there is only one form that they will want that climax to take. Much still needs to be done before Chelsea can ensure her final game is the Champions League final, but the manner of their quarter-final first leg victory over Ajax showed that they would be fitting finalists.

It wasn’t pretty; it definitely wasn’t easy. That, however, is the crucial part. Chelsea were tested, they struggled to find their best rhythm, but they were patient and it paid dividends.

It was Ajax who had the better of the starts on Tuesday, spurred on by a record crowd for a women’s game in the Netherlands, their vocal home support, and the knowledge that they had a point to prove.

Chelsea pass Ajax test to keep Hayes on course for UWCL final send-off

Chelsea vs Ajax prediction

18:15 , Mike Jones

Chelsea should wrap up a big win even with a rotated side – then their full focus will turn to the semi-final clash with Barcelona, in all probability.

Chelsea 4-0 Ajax.

Early team news and predicted line-ups

18:10 , Mike Jones

Ajax can recall captain Sherida Spitse after she was suspended in the first leg, but young midfielder Yohannes is now banned after her own caution in that game.

The Blues, meanwhile, could rotate as they have a League Cup final at the weekend to contend with, when they’ll face Arsenal at Molineux.

Predicted line-ups:

Chelsea XI: Hampton, Lawrence, Carter, Buchanan, Charles, Leupolz, Ingle, Rytting Kaneryd, Cankovic, Beever-Jones, Macario

Ajax XI: Van Eijk; Kardinaal, Spitse, De Sanders, De Klonia, Noordam, Van Gool, Van de Velde, Grant, Leuchter, Hoekstra

How to watch Chelsea vs Ajax

18:05 , Mike Jones

The match kicks off at 8pm GMT on Wednesday 27 March at Stamford Bridge in London.

In the UK, the fixture will be broadcast live on TNT Sports and DAZN.com.

If you’re travelling abroad and want to watch major sporting events, you might need a VPN to unblock your streaming app. Our VPN round-up is here to help and includes deals on VPNs in the market. Viewers using a VPN need to make sure that they comply with any local regulations where they are, and also with the terms of their service provider.

Good evening!

18:00 , Mike Jones

Welcome to The Independent’s coverage of tonight’s Women’s Champions League action as Chelsea host Ajax in the second leg of their quarter-final tie.

Emma Hayes’ team triumphed 3-0 away from home in the first leg of this last-eight clash and know that if they avoid a heavy defeat they will be progressing into the next round.

Such is Chelsea’s style though that they will want to impress in front of their home fans and record another victory over their Dutch rivals with Hayes hoping her team can continue to build some winning momentum.

We’ll have all the updates, team news and line-ups throughout the evening so stick with us as we build up to kick off at 8pm.



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