Chelsea Women defeated Barcelona Women in the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals with a 1-0 score.
The Chelsea women’s team became the first team to defeat the Barcelona women’s team at home for the first time in five years.
The Barcelona women’s team has gone unbeaten on home soil since a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Sporting de Huelva in the Primera Division in February 2019.
The Chelsea women’s team came with a beautiful game plan and enthusiasm. The Emma Hayes side held their nerves, with the Barcelona women’s team completely dominating the game from the beginning to the end.
After a shaky opening, the Chelsea Women side grew into the game and threatened the Barcelona Women goal post in both halves of the game.
Chelsea Women scored the only goal of the game with a quick counterattack in the 40th minute of the game.
Cuthbert curled the ball past Barcelona goalkeeper Cata Coll after a smart one-two move with Melanie Leupolz on the edge of the box.
The Chelsea’s back three were put in a well-arranged order and were able to stop several threats from the experienced Barcelona attackers.
Despite the presence of Women’s Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Petullas, Chelsea curtailed the Barcelona side to the barest minimum.
How Chelsea Women Manager Emma Hayes Reacted to Her Team’s Win Against Barcelona Women
The Chelsea Women manager reacted to the stellar performance against one of the most creative female teams in the world.
In the post-match conference, Hayes said: “It’s just halftime. Nobody should get carried away with that, and to be honest, I’m disappointed we didn’t get the second goal.”
“It’s a difficult place to come; they carried out the game plan I asked them to do, and from that perspective, I’m happy.”
“A lot of teams come here and go 1-0 or 2-0 down early on, and you have to ride that. They have unbelievable players that are world-class in everything they do, but for the most part, we limited them.”
What Next for the Chelsea and Barcelona Women Teams?
Chelsea will welcome the Barcelona women’s team to London for the second leg of the Champions League semi-finals on April 27, 2024, at 5:30 p.m.
The Chelsea Women side are expected to put their guard together and make sure the second leg performance gets better than the first leg in Spain.
Meanwhile, the Barcelona women’s side will first play against Levante Las Planas on April 24, 2024, away from home at 5:00 p.m.
The Barcelona side are currently at the top of the Primera Division and haven’t lost a single match this season.
What do you think about Chelsea’s performance against Barcelona? Air your views in the comment section.
