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 vs Barcelona
Chelsea reached this stage of the competition three times in four seasons between 2018 and 2021.
They went out 5-1 on aggregate to Wolfsburg in April 2018 and the following year lost 3-2 to Lyon, who would go on to defeat Barcelona in the Budapest final in May 2019.
Hayes on facing Barcleona again
"We will get chances, as will they, we have to convert them," said Chelsea boss, Emma Hayes. "As a whole team, for 90 minutes, everybody has to defend at an unbelievable level to make it difficult because Barcelona average 20-25 chances a game.
"Every team evolves, Barca have improved in lots of ways, developed lots of experience, added new players and lots of dimensions, equally so have we."
Pre-match thoughts from Barcelona’s Keira Walsh
“I don’t speak the best Spanish so a lot of the conversation I do miss! Everyone’s in good spirits and in training it’s really competitive and everyone’s enjoying it.
“You don’t want to feel the nerves and feel the tension in training, you want everyone to be relaxed. It’s a really good atmosphere so I’m looking forward to the game.
“Everyone’s confident but I wouldn’t say we view ourselves as a favourite. We go into every game thinking that we want to play a certain way and we want to win. The three other teams that are left in it are also great teams with great players.
“We’re confident in the way that we’re playing and the style that we’re playing. We’ve got some unbelievable players here as well. For me it’s just exciting to be a part of this team and I’m just really looking forward to playing both of the games in big stadiums.”
Chelsea have learnt from Barcelona loss
Chelsea boss, Emma Hayes, says her team have learnt a lot from the 2021 Champions League final defeat to Barcelona and that they are in a better place to take on the Spanish champions this time around.
"The learnings from that night [v Barcelona] were significant for us as a club," said Hayes.
"You have to go through those moments. I’m pretty certain [captain] Magda Eriksson and I have had 1,000 conversations since then about how to keep raising the bar for our team and we’ve done that.
"We are as best prepared as we can possibly be. We know what to expect. We’re better off as a result of that night."
How Chelsea pulled off Champions League’s greatest escape
How on earth did Chelsea escape this? With 122 minutes on the clock against Lyon, the dominant force in the Champions League, Chelsea were done, out, and had reached the end of their road in this competition. But the night after Arsenal made the Emirates their home, Chelsea had their moment at Stamford Bridge to join them in the semi-finals. How they needed those fans in the Shed End during the penalty shootout, as Ann-Katrin Berger saved from Wendie Renard and then Lindsey Horan to seal a famous victory on a night of stunning drama.
With a sense of growing inevitability, Lyon had shown the authority of eight-time winners to overturn Chelsea’s first-leg lead. In extra time Chelsea were doing all they could to hold on, down to their barest of bones. With Chelsea depleted, Lyon strengthened.
Sonia Bompastor could call upon quality at the level of Ada Hegerberg and Sara Dabritz and they combined for what looked to be the winning goal in the 110th minute. But then, deep into stoppage time, the ball broke to Lauren James and Chelsea dragged themselves into European folklore.
How Chelsea pulled off Champions League’s greatest escape
Chelsea 1-2 Lyon (2-2 agg., 4-3 on pens): Maren Mjelde equalised from the spot deep into extra-time before the Blues advanced to the Women’s Champions League semi-finals after penalties
Emma Hayes hails ‘character-building’ Chelsea performance in win over Lyon
Chelsea boss Emma Hayes was left “exhausted” after watching her side advance to the semi-finals of the Champions League on penalties against reigning European champions Lyon at Stamford Bridge.
Hayes’ side were facing elimination two minutes into injury time at the end of extra-time following Sara Dabritz’s goal that looked to have won it for Lyon.
They were rescued by Maren Mjedle’s penalty after Lauren James had been tripped inside the box, with a protracted VAR check leaving the tie in limbo for almost five minutes whilst a decision was reached.
Mjedle then showed an ice-cold nerve to step up and take the first kick of the shootout, before goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger made herself the hero with saves from Wendie Renard and Lindsey Horan to cap an incredible fightback.
It kept alive Chelsea’s hopes of becoming the first English side to win the tournament as they continue to chase an unprecedented treble.
Emma Hayes hails ‘character-building’ Chelsea performance in win over Lyon
Hayes’ side were facing elimination two minutes into injury time at the end of extra-time.
Chelsea vs Barcelona
Chelsea have reached the last four of this competition for the first time since 2021, knocking out reigning champions and eight-time winners Lyon in the quarter-finals.
They triumphed 4-3 on penalties after a dramatic 2-2 aggregate draw with Maren Mjelde forcing the shoot-out after a successful spot kick deep in extra time of the second leg.
Chelsea vs Barcelona
Barcelona recorded the competition’s biggest ever final victory with a 4-0 win against the Blues in Gothenburg in May 2021.
Melanie Leupolz conceded an own goal in the opening minute, before Alexia Putellas’ 14th-minute penalty, Aitana Bonmatí (21) and Caroline Graham Hansen (36) rounded off a stunning first-half display as Barcelona claimed their first European title.
Chelsea vs Barcelona
Chelsea are the only side left in this season’s Women’s Champions League who are yet to lift the trophy. They welcome Barcelona for the first leg of their semi-final this afternoon.
Barcelona were they side that ended Chelsea’s closest run to the title, beating them 4-0 in the 2021 WCL final.
Leah Williamson’s ACL injury has to be a final wake-up call for football
You feared the worst when Leah Williamson went down, and then the worst was confirmed. England’s captain will miss the Women’s World Cup after rupturing her anterior cruciate ligament, the scans revealing what those within the game have sadly become conditioned to expect. Williamson had collapsed over her right knee in the 12th minute of Arsenal’s match against Manchester United on Wednesday and her immediate reaction, as well as those around her as she hobbled down the tunnel, all but told you what had happened.
It is a devastating blow for Williamson and the Lionesses, but only one that those who are yet to wake up to the crisis hanging over this summer’s World Cup will be surprised by.
Williamson knew. “I had my tears and made my peace with it the night it happened,” she posted on Instagram shortly after the news broke. Yet there was a further line from the 26-year-old that emphasised where women’s football is three months away from the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. “The noise around the situation is loud,” she said. “Ultimately, I think it’s just my time.”
Leah Williamson’s ACL injury has to be a final wake-up call for football
Without Williamson, the Lionesses may not be favourites anymore for the World Cup this summer
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments