Chelsea were dealt an early blow in the opening leg of our semi-final when Sydney Lohmann headed the hosts into an early lead at the FC Bayern Campus.

The Blues responded well to the setback and equalised with a slice of luck 10 minutes after Bayern Munich’s opener.

Guro Reiten delivered a free-kick and a defensive header rebounded off former Bayern Munich captain Melanie Leupolz and looped into the far corner of the net.

Chelsea threatened as the first half went on with Pernille Harder and Sam Kerr going close for the Blues but there was nothing to separate the two sides at the break.

The Blues suffered another blow just before the hour mark when Hanna Glas scored from 25-yards to give Bayern Munich a 2-1 advantage.

Emma Hayes’ side searched for a second equaliser with Ji So-Yun hitting the cross bar and substitute Bethany England going close with two headers.

Despite the defeat, Chelsea secured a vital away goal and will now have a week to prepare for the return leg at Kingsmeadow next Sunday.

Hayes made one change to the side that earned a vital 2-2 draw at Manchester City on Wednesday with Reiten replacing Erin Cuthbert in the starting 11.

Magda Eriksson failed to recover from a knock that kept her out of Wednesday’s draw with City, which meant Ingle lined up at centre back once again, alongside captain for the afternoon, Millie Bright.

Jess Carter impressed in midweek and she kept her place at right-back with Jonna Andersson at left-back to complete a back four ahead of Ann-Katrin Berger.

In midfield, Hayes opted with Reiten ahead of Cuthbert and the Norwegian was joined by Ji and former Bayern Munich captain Leupolz.

Harder, Fran Kirby and Kerr lined up as a front three with Blues boss Hayes having plenty of options from the substitutes bench which included England, Cuthbert, and Niamh Charles.

Chelsea were aiming to make it third time lucky in this afternoon’s Champions League semi-final and Blues boss Hayes would have been pleased with how her side settled into the first leg tie during the early exchanges.

The Blues looked confident on the ball and went close when Reiten fired an effort just over the cross bar, but Chelsea were dealt a blow minutes later when the hosts got themselves in front on 12 minutes.

Berger could only palm a Glas cross into the direction of Lohmann at the back post and the midfielder headed Bayern Munich into an early lead.

Chelsea reacted well to the early setback and in the most bizarre of fashions, were back on level terms with 23 minutes on the clock.

Reiten delivered an in swinging free-kick and a defensive header rebounded off Leupolz and looped into the back of the net to give the Blues a vital away goal.

Chelsea could have gone ahead minutes after our equaliser and Reiten was involved again as her back heel found Harder in the box, but the attacking midfielder couldn’t direct her effort on target.

Shortly after and the Blues had another sight at goal as Kerr got in behind the Bayern defence and latched onto a long ball from Ingle, but the Australians goal-bound shot was blocked by defender Marina Hegering.

The Blues threatened towards the end of the half but were unable to create any clear-cut chances and went into the break on level terms with our German opponents.

The second half started with intent from both sides with Klara Buhl first going close with a long-range effort before Harder headed straight at the keeper from a Reiten free kick.

Similar to the first half, Chelsea fell behind again early in the second half when Clas cut in from the right and unleashed a 25-yard strike into the top corner.

As the Blues searched for a way back into the game, Hayes made two changes and brought on Charles and England for Reiten and Harder.

England was immediately involved in the action and came close with two headers in a matter of minutes for the Blues.

Ji saw an effort crash against the woodwork, but England couldn’t generate any power behind her header on the rebound.

Moments later and England was involved again but this time she sent her header over the bar after Bright picked the forward out in the box.

The Blues searched for an equaliser in the closing stages but were unable to break Bayern Munich down.

Chelsea now have a week to prepare for next week’s return leg, which along with our away goal, could prove crucial if we are to reach the final.

Following next Sunday’s second leg at Kingsmeadow, Chelsea will switch the focus to our final two league fixtures against Tottenham Hotspur and Reading as we look to take another step closer to securing back-to-back WSL titles.

Bayern Munich (4-3-3) Benkarth; Simon, Llestedt, Hegering, Glas; Buhl (Schuller 62), Laudehr (Wenninger 77), Zadrazil; Beerensteyn (Dallmann 77), Magull (Sorensen 90), LohmannUnused subs Grohs, Lehmann, Donhauser, Boye, Corley, Asseyi, Vilhjalmsdottir, PollakScorers Lohmann 12 Glas 56Booked Zadrazil 22

Chelsea (4-3-3) Berger; Carter, Bright (C), Ingle, Andersson; Reiten (Charles 65), Leupolz, Ji; Kirby, Harder (England 70); KerrUnused subs Musovic, Telford, Blundell, Fleming, Cuthbert, Spence, Fox, Beever-JonesScorers Leupolz 23Booked Harder 33

Referee Sara Persson