Barcelona and Graham Hansen end Chelsea’s Women’s Champions League dream

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.

On the touchline, Emma Hayes could be proud of her team, who came from one down here, Guro Reiten equalising Caroline Graham Hansen’s opener, but the Norwegian’s first leg goal at Stamford Bridge had ultimately decided this. Having defeated Lyon another extraordinary feat was a step too far; Chelsea eventually beaten by a very special team. In the end, there was just not quite enough. They had though got close. For a lot of the night that had not looked likely, but the rebellion came.

Hayes had rightly talked of Chelsea’s ability to defend after the first leg, but that scoreline required something else here. “We can’t let then have 80% of the ball,” the Chelsea coach had said, and her side began on the front foot, or tried to. Good intentions though are one thing, reality another and it wasn’t long before this settled into a familiar pattern. Barely a couple of minutes in fact, Barcelona quickly making the ball their own and making openings too.

Asisat Oshoala’s first effort, scuffed across the six yard box, had come inside four minutes and Barcelona thought they had the lead soon after when Magdalena Eriksson’s mistake saw her let Fridolina Rolfö’s cross go all the way through to Graham Hansen at the far post. Graham Hansen was judged to have handled before putting the