Chelsea vs Barcelona LIVE: Result and reaction from Women’s Champions League semi-final
Chelsea 0-1 Barcelona: Caroline Graham Hansen gives Barca the advantage ahead of the semi-final second leg
Chelsea will need to overturn a one goal deficit when they travel to Spain next week for the second leg of the their Women’s Champions League semi-final against Barcelona.
In scenes reminiscent of the 2021 WCL final, Barca struck early in the game when Caroline Graham Hansen darted inside from the right wing and smoked a beautiful shot past the outstretched hand of Ann-Katrin Berger to open the scoring after just four minutes.
On the previous occasion Chelsea wilted to concede four goals before half-time but here they responded well. Stepping further up the pitch to control play in midfield the Blues seemed more composed. Guro Reiten even ahd a goal disallowed after a slight offside from Sam Kerr in the build-up.
However, as the second half progressed injuries and a lack of squad depth began to tell for Emma Hayes’ side. They managed to keep out a late Barcelona onslaught but the equaliser they desperately wanted remained out of reach.
Relive the action as Chelsea faced Barcelona in the Women’s Champions League semi-finals:
Chelsea hang on against Barcelona - but require another Champions League miracle
Thankfully for Chelsea , this rematch against Barcelona was not the repeat of the 2021 final that at one stage it threatened to be. Chelsea set out to survive, and will head to the Nou Camp only 1-0 down. In front of a record Women’s Champions League crowd at Stamford Bridge, the Blues will take heart from how they restricted Barcelona at times, but to win this semi-final tie they will need to offer much, much more. For a spell, Chelsea disrupted Barcelona, but then returned to a defensive, passive approach that leaves a near-impossible task in the second leg.
Chelsea will not feat such odds but overturning this will take something special. Chelsea could not live with Barcelona to begin with, particularly the outstanding Caroline Graham Hansen, who sealed Barcelona’s 4-0 win in Gothenburg two years ago and returned to terrorise Chelsea here. To raise the Barcelona bench from its feet and to stun this team of global stars takes something magical, and that’s what the winger produced with her wonderful opener after four minutes. It looked a long way back for Chelsea then, but they hung on.
A second goal for Barcelona to add to their dominance would have killed the tie, even at that early stage. Graham Hansen and Geyse both had shots saved during the early onslaught at Stamford Bridge, before Emma Hayes gathered her players after around 15 minutes, a break that perhaps conveniently for Chelsea came when Ann-Katrin Berger stayed down feeling her hamstrings. The Chelsea manager was stern, directing Chelsea to get tighter to the gold shirts that until then were enjoying the freedom of Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea hang on against Barcelona - but require another Champions League miracle
Chelsea 0-1 Barcelona: Caroline Graham Hansen’s stunning goal after four minutes leaves the Blues requiring a win at the Nou Camp in order to return to the Women’s Champions League final
England receive Lucy Bronze injury update after Chelsea’s defeat to Barcelona
England defender Lucy Bronze is feeling “really good” despite hobbling off with a knee injury in Barcelona’s win against Chelsea in the Women’s Champions League.
THe sight of Bronze limping off the pitch at Stamford Bridge would have been a major worry for Lionesses manager Sarina Wiegman ahead of the World Cup, especially with Leah WIlliamson and Beth Mead ruled out of the tournament with anterior cruciate ligament injuries.
The right back returned to the bench after going down the tunnel midway through the second half with ice on her knee in what was a positive sign, and the Barcelona manager Jonatan Giráldez provided further encouragement that Bronze had escaped a serious injury after the match.
England receive Lucy Bronze injury update after Chelsea’s defeat to Barcelona
Bronze limped off midway through the second half at Stamford Bridge in what was a major concern for Sarina Wiegman
Chelsea’s Maren Mjelde reaction
“It’s a good result in a way against a strong Barcelona team. We just have to recover well and learn from this and anything can happen on Thursday. We’re up for it and I’m sure they are as well.
“Bad start, conceding after three minutes. If you do that it’s going to be hard against Barcelona. I think we got into the match again, we created some chances but 1-0 is an OK result. We have to travel down to Barcelona and anything can happen.”
Reaction from Jonatan Giráldez
“We played a really good match defensively. All the work we’d put in paid off. We played like a unified block. We were super-concentrated all match and we played well positionally. That made us much more able to cope with Chelsea’s transitions.
“Initially Lucy was a bit worried about her injury, she felt her pain in her knee, but now she’s feeling much better about it.
“We started with intensity, and we got a good early goal. I think overall we controlled the match, more or less from the start to finish. I liked the first minutes where we began so well, it allowed us to stay calm throughout.”
Lucy Bronze suffers knee injury in Barcelona’s Champions League win at Chelsea
England defender Lucy Bronze limped off with a knee issue as Barcelona beat Chelsea 1-0 in the first leg of their Women’s Champions League semi-final at Stamford Bridge.
With Beth Mead and Leah Williamson both set to miss this summer’s World Cup, Lionesses boss Sarina Wiegman will face a nervous wait to learn the extent of right-back Bronze’s injury.
Her side, the 2021 champions, drew first blood at the midway point of the tie after Caroline Graham Hansen’s goal put the Spaniards in the driving seat going into next week’s decider.
Lucy Bronze suffers knee injury in Barcelona’s Champions League win at Chelsea
Beth Mead and Leah Williamson are both set to miss England’s World Cup campaign.
FT Chelsea 0-1 Barcelona
Former Leeds striker Lucy Ward on DAZN: “Chelsea did well defensively. They pressed really well in the first half. They conceded early but didn’t really let it affect them.
“As far as Barcelona are concerned it was a composed performance, they never really got out of second or third gear. They will have the confidence they can finish it off. It’s a big uphill climb for Chelsea now.”
FT Chelsea 0-1 Barcelona
The big blow to come out of this match is the injury to Lucy Bronze. She was subbed off late in the second half and needed an ice pack strapping to her leg.
With the Women’s World Cup arriving this summer, England cannot afford to have any more serious injuries to their key personnel.
Captain Leah Williamson will miss the tournament and star striker Beth Mead is a doubt.
Full-time: Chelsea 0-1 Barcelona
90+4 mins: Sandra Panos is shown a yellow card for time-wasting after delaying the restart.
Chelsea are unable to get the goal they wanted and have work to do in the second leg. They’ve been defeated at Stamford Bridge after a superb strike from Caroline Graham Hansen less than five minutes into the game.
Barcelona win 1-0 and take an slight advantage back to the Camp Nou. The tie is all to play for though.
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