sport news Chelsea defender Niamh Charles admits she has 'grown hugely' from bruising past ... trends now
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Niamh Charles is still just 24 years old, but there was a sense that the Chelsea defender came of age in last week’s 1-0 victory over Barcelona.
The Catalans managed just one shot on target as Charles and her team-mates restricted the reigning European champions to half chances.
Charles was part of the Chelsea team that was beaten 4-0 by Barca in the 2021 final. The defender, then 21, had a particularly tough evening - as did many of her team-mates.
In last season’s semi-final against Barca, she showed vast improvement - but there was still a gap.
The prospect of going up against Caroline Graham Hansen and Mariona Caldentey would put fear into most defenders, but Charles appeared unfazed in Spain last week. She looked confident and put in a performance that demonstrated just how much she has grown in the last three years.
Niamh Charles (pictured) came of age in Chelsea's 1-0 win against Barcelona last week
Charles (left) was part of the Chelsea team that was thrashed 4-0 by Barcelona back in 2021
‘My technical and tactical game I would say has improved from hours on the training pitch,’ Charles says. ‘But I think I’ve grown hugely, I wouldn’t just say as a player but as a person. I’ve probably matured, got to know myself better.
‘How I deal with things, how I prepare for games. I guess part of that is time. I wish it would have been a bit quicker or just happened overnight but at
