Women's Champions League: Barca end Chelsea dreams
Chelsea 0 - 2 Barcelona
Barcelona won 2-1 on aggregate
Chelsea's hopes of making it to the Women's Champions League final in manager Emma Hayes' final season at the club were crushed with a defeat by Barcelona at a sold-out Stamford Bridge.
Despite leading 1-0 from the semi-final first leg, Chelsea was unable to hold onto their advantage as holders Barca turned the tide in their favour. Referee Iuliana Demetrescu made two crucial decisions that went against the Blues.
Firstly, she issued a second booking to Chelsea defender Kadeisha Buchanan within four minutes, leaving the hosts with only 10 players on the field just before the hour mark.
A history of women's football (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com)
Secondly, she awarded a penalty to Barcelona for a contentious foul on Aitana Bonmati, which Fridolina Rolfo converted. Bonmati had earlier cancelled out Chelsea's aggregate lead with a deflected strike off Buchanan, and her dramatic fall in the box under contact from Jess Carter and Ashley Lawrence was enough to convince Demetrescu to point to the spot.
Despite a VAR review, the decision was not overturned. Chelsea made every effort to find the goal they needed, but they were knocked out 2-1 on aggregate as Barcelona secured their place in the final for the fifth time in six seasons.
Although Chelsea hit the woodwork twice, with Melanie Leupolz striking the crossbar in the first half and Sjoeke Nusken stabbing an effort against the post after the break, they were unable to find the back of the net. Hayes, who will leave Chelsea after 12 years to manage the US women's national team in the summer, will be disappointed not to have won the Women's Champions League with the club.
It was a clearly emotional night at Stamford Bridge
It wasn’t meant to be for the Chelsea women yesterday at Stamford Bridge.
— Chris Wright 🏴 (@chriswrightzz) April 28, 2024
However, me & my son had a great time, a terrific atmosphere & a sold out crowd was very impressive.
Will definitely go again, the rise in women’s football in recent years has been incredible. 👏 pic.twitter.com/90wI6TV5p0
Lauren, a Chelsea fan told us: "An amazing night for the club and all the fans. An attendance of over 38,000 is sensational and shows the growth of the women's game in England. It's just a shame that we couldn't get over the line and get to the final in the last season for Hayes. She had deserved that."
