Barcelona served as manager against Chelsea in the women’s Champions League semi-finals after showing their quality in a 4-1 first leg victory ahead of their second leg at Stamford Bridge next Sunday.
Chelsea are bidding to reach the European final for the second time, but they can win four-chunks of major trophies for this semester in the first season of Sonia Boncomaster, but if they could overturn this deficit in London, they will need an unlikely-looking comeback and life performance.
The scoreline may have been worse for Chelsea, but for Hannah Hampton’s early penalty save, it was when the tie was 0-0 and former Ballon d’Or Alexia Peteras was rejected from the scene. It kept the home side at bay, but it wasn’t long. Puchera slid a through-ball into Evapajol’s pass for the Polish striker to open the score.
Chelsea improved defensively after the break, but did it 2-0 with a move that included 18 passes before Barcelona was replaced from inside the six-yard box, 2-0, and was reverted by a clever team goal. Pina herself played the 13th pass of a flowing move from the back of Barcelona’s half of her own before sprinting upfield to bring the cross home.
Sandy Baltimore’s crisp strike remained in the far corner, offering the Bonpaster team a faint hope of hope to bring the scoreline back to 2-1 with the remaining 16 minutes, but the far post header from the unmarked Irene Paredes quickly restored Barcelona’s two-goal advantage. Pina then attacked again from close range in the 90th minute, severely blocking Chelsea’s hopes for Game 2, and more accurately reflecting the advantages of the scoreboard hosts’ advantages.
Norwegian winger Caroline Graham Hansen, who had doubts about this first leg after missing out on Barcelona’s training session on Saturday due to illness, was named among the starting sides and had an impressive start to the game, with Chelsea’s left back Baltimore having a lot to think about early on. Graham Hansen saw a large, short deflection after seeing host midfielder Patricia Gyajaro’s efforts to deflect Hampton’s arms low, then after host holding host Chelsea struggled to hold the ball long enough to make many meaningful attacks in the opening exchange.
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Barcelona’s early pressure ultimately resulted in a penalty when Natalie Bjorn handled Paredes’ headers and Hungarian umpire Katalin Krxar correctly awarded a spot kick after consulting with the screen after a VAR check. Putteras chose to send the strike straight down the middle, and England goalkeeper Hampton dived slightly to the right of Putteras, but was saved comfortably with his feet.
It proved to be one of the only celebration moments for travel Chelsea fans, and in the end this was a game that highlighted Barcelona’s outstanding skills.
