"Having scored nine goals in their two group stage matches against Twente in last year's edition of the tournament, the Blues failed to deliver on matchday one this time around. Sonia Bompastor made seven changes to the side that drew with Manchester United in the Women's Super League last week, but those alterations did not affect Chelsea early on. The Blues forced Diede Lemey into two early saves, with the Twente goalkeeper first denying Sjoeke Nusken's fierce volley before thwarting Aggie Beever-Jones from distance."
"Chelsea continued to turn the screw and Lemey was again on hand to stop Alyssa Thompson from opening the scoring, with the encounter heading into the break all square. Thompson then thought she had opened the scoring five minutes after the restart as she finished into the roof of the net from close range, but Nusken was offside in the build-up."
"And with just their second shot on target, Twente took a surprise lead in the 63rd minute when Danique van Ginkel picked out the top-right corner with a stunning strike. However, Twente's joy was short-lived as just seven minutes later, Sandy Baltimore tucked away a penalty after Guro Reiten was fouled inside the box by Lynn Groenewegen. Bompastor threw on plenty of her experienced players, including Sam Kerr to try and find a winner, but they were unable to find a way past Twente's stern defensive rearguard."
Chelsea were held to a 1-1 draw away to Twente despite making seven changes and dominating the opening phases. Chelsea forced multiple saves from goalkeeper Diede Lemey and had a goal by Alyssa Thompson ruled out for offside shortly after the restart. Twente took the lead in the 63rd minute through Danique van Ginkel, before Sandy Baltimore equalised from a penalty after Guro Reiten was fouled. Sonia Bompastor introduced experienced substitutes including Sam Kerr, but Chelsea could not break down Twente's defence. Chelsea registered an expected goals total of 3.02 from 20 shots, with only six on target.
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