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Emma Hayes said she was proud of her players following their Champions League semi-final exit after a 1-1 draw with Barcelona at Camp Nou was not enough to overturn the 1-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge.
BARCELONA: A second-half goal by winger Caroline Graham Hansen earned Barcelona a 1-1 home draw against Chelsea in the second leg of their women's Champions League semi-final to give them an aggregate 2-1 win and seal a third consecutive final.
When at last the final whistle went and 70,000 people erupted, Barcelona’s anthem booming round the Camp Nou at last taking the tension away, their players collapsed to the floor exhausted. Chelsea’s gathered in a circle in the middle of the pitch; they had this team to edge, competing to the last, but it is the Catalans who made it through, a 1-1 draw on the night taking them to a third consecutive Champions League final, their fourth in five seasons.
The European Club Association (ECA) said it is concerned about the "current widespread practice" of national federations calling up players for the Women's World Cup before the mandatory release period starts.
Chelsea may have lost 1-0 in the first leg of the Women’s Champions League semi-final against Barcelona but afterwards they were relatively buoyant. Playing against the possession-heavy and quick-moving Catalans is one of the trickiest tests in football. “You have to be in the tie. We’re in the tie,” said the Chelsea manager, Emma Hayes. She is right but Barcelona walked away the more content side. Yes, they did not capitalise on their dominance to a greater extent, but their play (and injuries to Millie Bright and Kadeisha Buchanan) forced Chelsea to change shape, to a back five. As the Barcelona midfielder Keira Walsh put it: “We always score a lot of goals at Camp Nou.” Chelsea have a near-impossible task in Spain but shaking players free of Barcelona’s press long enough for them to release Sam Kerr will be key to any hopes of a colossal upset. SW
A defeat to Barcelona once more in the Champions League will, in the immediate aftermath, feel like a blow for Chelsea and their fans. However, a gritty performance and 1-0 loss at the hands of the team so many consider the best in Europe should fill Chelsea with plenty of encouragement for the second leg at Camp Nou on Thursday.
Emma Hayes’ Champions League dream remains alive. Chelsea’s 1-0 home defeat to Barcelona in their semi-final first leg provided enough positives and a narrow enough margin for the second leg at Camp Nou to look slightly less daunting.