Chelsea must wait to qualify for knockouts after Ann-Katrin Berger's blunder

Real Madrid 1 Chelsea 1

Any draw away at Spanish giants Real Madrid is no mean feat but Emma Hayes felt her Chelsea side's performance was as "bad as any she had seen" in the first half, as they were made to wait another week to secure their spot in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals.

"Technically, I’ve never seen us give the ball away so cheaply. All parts of our play in-possession struggled," said Hayes after the draw that kept her side unbeaten in Group A. "I was forced to make two changes and if I’m honest, anyone could have come off. We’ve been playing really well, so we’re disappointed. It was a great response from the team in the second half. We could have won it in the end."

That her side didn't win was largely down to a bizarre defensive lapse from her usually reliable goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger, who placed a low clearance straight to the feet of Real's Scotland midfielder Caroline Weir on the edge of the area, allowing the former Manchester City star to open the scoring. Chelsea hit back to earn a point in the second half after Guro Reiten's penalty hit the post and then bounced in off goalkeeper Misa Rodriguez for an own goal.

Sam Kerr could have had a hat-trick for the visitors as the Australia striker hit the woodwork twice in the first half and was then thwarted by a fine save from close range in the latter stages of the contest. Nonetheless, Hayes felt the draw was a "fair result" and with her team top of the group she concluded: "When you take the emotion out of it, it’s a really good point."

Chelsea's qualification should still be relatively routine from this position, as next Friday they travel to face the group's bottom side, Albanian outfit Vllaznia, whom they beat 8-0 at Kingsmeadow in October's reverse fixture. Second-placed PSG will visit Stamford Bridge on December 22 to conclude the group stage.

Match details

Real Madrid (4-3-3): M Rodriguez 6; Andres 6, Sousa 7, Galvez 6, Carmona 8; Weir 7, Toletti 6, Zornoza 6 (Oroz 6, 74); Del Castillo 7, Feller 7 (Garcia 6, 90), Esther Gonzalez 6 (Svava 6, 61)

Subs not used: Gerard (gk), Fuente (gk), Robles, Abelleira, Florentina, Moller, L Rodriguez, Olofsson, Camacho

Yellow cards: Del Castillo

Chelsea (4-3-3): Berger 5; Carter 6, Buchanan 7, Bright 7, Eriksson 6 (Charles 7, 46); Cuthbert 8, Ingle 8, Fleming 6 (Kirby 7, 46); James 7 (Rytting Kaneryd 6, 77) Kerr 6, Reiten 8

Subs not used: Musovic (gk), Orman (gk), Nouwen, England, Svitkova, Perisset, Mjelde, Abdullina, Cankovic

Yellow cards: Carter, James

Referee: Kateryna Monzul (Ukraine)