Chelsea women's player ratings vs Twente: Electric Alyssa Thompson unable to haul Blues to Champions League victory as Sonia Bompastor's side make false start

Chelsea made a surprisingly sloppy start to their Women's Champions League campaign on Wednesday night, dropping two points away to a Twente side that featured just one senior international in its starting line-up. The Blues are expected to be one of the main contenders for the trophy this season but they didn't look like it here, as Sonia Bompastor's much-changed team was made to work, and work hard, for a 1-1 draw in the Netherlands.

While the English champions showed seven alterations from their goalless draw with Manchester United on Friday night, this was still a star-studded XI that Chelsea put out, but it was one that lacked cohesion and chemistry in a rather disjointed display. Twente were out from the get-go to take advantage, too, creating the better chances in the early stages only to be denied by great defending from Ellie Carpenter on two occasions in particular.

That said, the Blues had their opportunities, too. Maika Hamano fired a big one over the bar and Guro Reiten had another well blocked before the impressive Alyssa Thompson thought she'd broken the deadlock just after the break, only for the offside flag to go up for an infringement earlier in the move. It was not long after that that Twente punished Chelsea for their surprising lack of ruthlessness, as a great run from Jill Roord caught the visitors out and ended with Danique van Ginkel curling home a beautiful opener.

Fortunately for Bompastor's side, there was still plenty of time to respond and they had the chance to do so from the penalty spot, with Sandy Baltimore able to level things up after Reiten was fouled. But the Blues couldn't find that crucial second, with teenage debutante Chloe Sarwie going closest to doing so from the edge of the box as the English giants began their European campaign with an underwhelming 1-1 draw.

GOAL rates Chelsea's players from De Grolsch Veste...

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Goalkeeper & Defence
Livia Peng (6/10):
Had very little to do except pick the ball out the back of her net on her Chelsea debut. Didn't look fazed.
Ellie Carpenter (7/10):
So often popped up in the right place at the right time with key defensive interventions and combined really positively with Thompson going forward.
Millie Bright (7/10):
Mopped up nicely at the back, won plenty of her duels and kept possession well.
Veerle Buurman (6/10):
Did very little wrong on her return to the Netherlands. A little sloppier on the ball than her centre-back partner but stood up tall in her individual battles.
Sandy Baltimore (6/10):
Lacked her usual electricity at times but made a massive intervention at the back post to stop what looked to be a certain Twente goal and converted her penalty with conviction to salvage a point.

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Midfield
Oriane Jean-Francois (5/10):
A decent overall display, but she had to do a better job tracking Roord for Twente's opener.
Sjoeke Nusken (6/10):
Worked hard, pressed well and made some good runs from deep before having to go off with a head injury.
Maika Hamano (5/10):
Couldn't quite provide her usual spark. Had a great chance to break the deadlock in the first half, too, but blazed over.
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Attack
Alyssa Thompson (7/10):
A surprise to see her subbed off on the hour with the scores still goalless, as she had looked the most likely to create a match-winning moment. Combined brilliantly with Carpenter and created a number of chances with her excellent final ball.
Aggie Beever-Jones (5/10):
Didn't get tons of service, though was surprisingly wasteful with what she received given she has started the season in such electric form.
Guro Reiten (6/10):
Had some good moments, including her run into the box which won the penalty, and was very close to scoring in the first half but for a great block.

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Subs & Manager
Erin Cuthbert (6/10):
Injected energy into midfield and did her fair share of defensive work, too.
Wieke Kaptein (5/10):
Worked hard off the ball and showed some nice touches in and around the box, though couldn't quite make the mark in attack that she'd have liked.
Johanna Rytting Kaneryd (6/10):
Did well to take the baton from Thompson and ensure Chelsea's threat didn't wane down the right, even if she couldn't quite match the American's impact.
Sam Kerr (N/A):
Brought real presence to the top of the pitch and was extremely lively in the box, just didn't quite get that chance to win it.
Chloe Sarwie (N/A):
The 16-year-old enjoyed a special moment in the latter stages when she was introduced for her Chelsea debut.
Sonia Bompastor (5/10):
Rotated her team a surprising amount at this early point in this season and it came back to bite her, in the form of a disjointed performance that lacked cutting edge.

Goalkeeper & Defence

Midfield

Attack

Subs & Manager