Barcelona Femenino 0 Chelsea Women 1
Chelsea ended Barcelona’s five-year unbeaten streak at home, to take an unlikely advantage home for the second leg of this Champions League semi-final.
It is no exaggeration to say this 1-0 win was one of the finest results of Emma Hayes’s entire 12-year tenure at Chelsea.
Decked out in a royal blue suit, she fist-pumped on the tocuhline as the final whistle blew. It was an understated celebration after a first-half goal from Erin Cuthbert was enough to down the European champions in this first leg, and keep Hayes’s hopes of an elusive European title in her final season with Chelsea very much alive.
“Barcelona’s team will go down in history as one of the greatest women’s teams ever,” Hayes said on Friday night, ahead of this clash. Some might call that taking the pressure off her team, and there will be a bit of that at play – especially after the club’s sub-par performances in the domestic cups and controversy around Hayes’s comments in recent weeks.
But when you look at Barcelona’s record, Hayes’s words look far from mere hyperbole. Two European titles in the past three seasons. A squad full of Spain’s World Cup winners. Added to that they had not lost at home in any competition since February 2019. It is only that level of mind-boggling, enduring dominance that can put Chelsea in a rare underdog position.
The last time Barcelona failed to score in the first half of any match was back in December. They had not trailed in a match since January. But by the break Chelsea had somehow broken those streaks, thanks to some solid defensive work – in particular from Jess Carter – and a belter of a goal from Cuthbert.
The first half was scrappy, but Barcelona were definitely in charge for the majority. Chelsea were doing a lot of retreating back, dealing with the high press from Barcelona on the rare occasion they actually had the ball.
Out of possession, they were falling into a back five, with Johanna Rytting Kaneryd dropping into the backline. It worked well once Chelsea settled into the match.
Barcelona’s speedy top scorer in this campaign Salma Paralluelo, was blocked twice, once by Kadeisha Buchanan and another time by Carter.
At the other end of the pitch, Mayra Ramirez helped to stretch Barcelona with a couple of searching runs. Chelsea’s opportunities were thin on the ground but they were starting to finally get a few looks in.
Enter Cuthbert, who said before the match that, as a Scot, she thrives on being the underdog. And thrive she did, as she gave Chelsea the advantage in this semi-final. Sjoeke Nusken put in the hard yards in the box, holding off three circling defenders to nudge the ball back towards Cuthbert who scurried wide of Ingrid Engen to get her shot up. It took a slight deflection before it found the back of the net to momentarily silence the shocked home crowd.
Cuthbert wheeled off in celebration then, gesturing up to the small section of travelling Chelsea fans, who were secluded in a pen high up in the stands. This goal was the first time Chelsea had led Barcelona after two heartbreaking previous losses to them in the competition: in the 2021 final and then in last year’s semi-final exit. Could Chelsea hold on?
Yes, they somehow did. The biggest scare came in the first few minutes of the second half, as Barcelona were awarded a penalty for a clear handball by Buchanan.
This was sure to be Barcelona’s opening. But as Mariona Caldentey stood over the ball VAR was called into play. In a major lifeline for Chelsea, Paralluelo was judged to be interfering with play from a marginally offside position, stood right at Buchanan’s shoulder when her arm caught the ball, and so the penalty was disallowed.
A sigh of relief, but there were still 40 minutes left to play and this Barcelona crowd were out for blood. The penalty decision turned the atmosphere tenser, and every time a Chelsea player went down – either through injury or after being fouled – they were hissed at and jeered.
While the fans were on top form, the Barcelona team were not at their best on Saturday. As the match drew to a close, a Paralluelo effort went agonisingly wide with five minutes left. Aitana Bonmati, Barcelona’s supreme playmaker, was kept quieter than usual and she punched the ground in annoyance after a Barcelona cross in stoppage time was cleared by the Chelsea backline.
Alexia Putellas’s shot at the death also went wide, to keep Chelsea in pole position going into the second leg.
Match details
Barcelona (4-3-3): Coll; Batlle (Bronze 63), Engen (Putellas 63), Paredes, Rolfö; Guijarro, Walsh, Bonmati; Graham Hansen, Mariona (Lopez 73), Paralluelo. Subs: Panos, Fernandez, Pina, Torrejon, Vilamala, Brugts, Dragoni, Ari, Martina
Bookings: Paredes
Chelsea (4-3-3): Hampton; Lawrence, Carter, Buchanan, Charles; Cuthbert, Nüsken, Leupolz; Rytting Kaneryd, Ramirez (Reiten 90+2), James (Macario 73). Subs: Musovic, Cox, Bright, Ingle, Kirby, Persist, Beevor-Jones
Referee: Stephanie Frappart
Attendance: 36,428
