Chelsea’s statement win in Women’s Champions League illustrates rise of English football

After the Blues eased past Wolfsburg to book their place in the final four, Bella Butler analyses how the gap has narrowed to their illustrious European rivals

Chelsea celebrate victory over Wolfsburg to reach the final four of the Women’s Champions League (AFP)

Chelsea are through to the final four of the Uefa Champions League after beating former winners Wolfsburg 3-0 to complete a 5-1 aggregate win as English clubs continue to close the gap in Europe.

Emma Hayes’ side were clearly the deserved winners, securing their place in the semi-finals after incredible goals from super trio Pernille Harder, Sam Kerr and Fran Kirby, and are likely to play Bayern Munich next.

Wolfsburg have knocked Chelsea out of the Champions League on three previous occasions, but the Blues success today just goes to show how British women’s clubs are continuing to get better in international competition.

Hayes commented after the win: “It probably ranks as my favourite win in charge. I posed the challenge to the group about the maturity, the progression. That’s how you show yourself as a manager, how we are growing up in Europe.

“We’ve played them before and been humiliated. They are the benchmark. It’s a proud day for English football.”

Following the FA’s announcement last week that they have signed a multimillion-pound deal with Sky Sports and the BBC for broadcasting rights to the Women’s Super League, it is no surprise that women’s football in the UK is approaching a new peak.

The deal hopes to increase female participation in football by inspiring a new generation and will allow women’s clubs in the UK to continue to grow.

The coronavirus pandemic hit the women’s game hard, particularly last year, as clubs had to make major cuts to stay afloat.

There have also been recent concerns over the upkeep of clubs’ pitches as multiple games and bad weather caused them to deteriorate, which led to a string of postponements.

However, Manchester United is just one of the British clubs that has taken strides to close the gap in equality, having played their first game at Old Trafford last Saturday, beating West Ham 2-0.

The Hammers manager Olli Harder said: “The players all thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to be here. It was a decent promotion for women's football.

“It was a fantastic occasion for myself personally but more importantly, for the girls to come and play at arguably one of the most historic stadiums in the world.”

The quality of the women’s game has come on leaps and bounds over the past few years, with England’s third place finish in the 2015 Women’s World Cup causing a boom in female participation.

The presence of female managers has also had a positive impact on the women’s game, with the likes of Hayes making the difference for Chelsea.

Fortune didn’t shine so brightly for Manchester City, though, who fought valiantly but failed to overturn an almighty first-leg deficit, suffering a 4-2 defeat on aggregate against Barcelona in their quarter-final.

City trailed 3-0 from the first leg but started brightly, with Janine Beckie scoring after 20 minutes to give her side hope. Asisat Oshoala equalised for Barcelona, though, in the second half, securing her side’s place in the last-eight, despite Sam Mewis’ penalty sealing a 2-1 victory for City on the night.

Barca will now face the winners of the quarter-final between Olympique Lyonnais and Paris Saint-Germain, which has been rescheduled for 18 April after several Covid-19 cases in the Lyon squad.

It may not be City’s time just yet, but it will only be up for English clubs from here. The future is looking extremely bright for the women’s game.