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AFC Women's Champions League
The goalkeeper felt the presence of the over 18,000 fans in the Wuhan Sports Centre gave the China PR side immense motivation as they came from behind to beat Australia’s Melbourne City FC 5-4 on penalties after the final had finished 1-1 in extra time.
“First of all, so many fans came to watch our game,” said Chen. “We feel very touched, and it really encouraged us and gave us a lot of strength.”
The 1.87m tall Chen started the match as a substitute but was sent on at the start of the second half for the injured Ding Xuan in what turned out to be a pivotal moment in the match.
#AWCL | Final - Melbourne City FC (AUS) 1 (4) - (5) 1 Wuhan Jiangda Women’s FC (CHN)
The 31-year-old produced outstanding saves to deny Holly McNamara and Bryleeh Henry minutes after coming on before making telling contributions in the shootout.
Having already made two saves in the shootout win against Japan’s Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies in the quarter-finals, Chen went into penalties not short on confidence.
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It was almost an early advantage for Wuhan Jiangda when Chen got her hand to Shelby McMahon’s spot-kick but the ball bounced over the line.
With the shootout tied at 4-4 and Song Duan’s shot saved by Malena Garcia, the pressure was on Chen to stop Melbourne City’s Rebekah Stott and she proceeded to do just that to send the game into sudden death.
Zhao Yuxin then scored to put Wuhan Jiangda ahead before Chen once again emerged hero by denying Henry to send the home fans into a frenzy as the experienced goalkeeper soaked in the joy after the match.
“First of all, this journey hasn’t been easy, and now that we’ve won the championship, we’re extremely happy. We’ve also made history for Wuhan.
“Everyone actually felt a lot of pressure in their hearts, but we really longed for this victory and wanted to dedicate a brilliant performance to the fans.”
Chen and her teammates will have more opportunities to create history when Wuhan Jiangda compete in the inaugural FIFA Women’s Champions Cup 2026.
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