Barcelona demolished Chelsea’s hopes of reaching the Champions League final with another humiliating 4-1 defeat, ending the Women’s Super League (WSL) leader’s dream of a quadruple with an 8-2 aggregate loss in the semifinals.
It was an almost impossible task for Sonia Bompastor’s side to overturn their three-goal deficit at Stamford Bridge after scumbling to a brutal 4-1 loss in the first leg in Barcelona.
However, Barça added to the pain on Sunday, scoring three times in the first half to remove any doubt as to who would be punching their ticket to Lisbon for next month’s final.
Aitana Bonmatí made things easy for the visitors as Chelsea failed to close the reigning Ballon d’Or holder down as she barrelled into the box. As the ball hit the back of the net, Chelsea’s plan for a historic comeback took a crash landing and the energy was sapped out of the hosts.
Barça’s Ewa Pajor broke free from Chelsea captain Millie Bright to finish Caroline Graham Hansen‘s dangerous cross and within minutes, Champions League top scorer Clàudia Pina — who netted twice in the first leg — sent a long-range curler past Hannah Hampton.
Chelsea soon looked resigned to their fate.
The second leg mirrored a lot of the errors in the first leg, with Chelsea failing to correct their defensive frailties to subdue Barcelona’s threats.
They were hesitant and nervous to create an attack in fear of losing possession and leaving themselves exposed to Barcelona’s ruthless counterattack. Their press was not any better. It was disorganised and ineffective despite the hosts knowing they needed goals to overturn the tie.
With another capitulation sealed, substitute Salma Paralluelo took advantage of some poor communication between Niamh Charles and Hampton to slot a fourth goal home.
A few last-ditch attempts proved the wounded Chelsea side wanted to go out fighting. Wieke Kaptien, off the bench, sealed a consolation goal, as she rifled the ball into the top corner.
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They were able to produce some chances, creating 19 opportunities in total, but in lacking a clinical edge, with only seven shots on target, it was never going to be enough to make it to the final.
Despite this being the third consecutive season that these two sides have met at this stage, Chelsea — who are undefeated in the WSL still — seem further away from European glory than ever.
In the past two seasons, they narrowly lost to Barça by one goal on aggregate each time. Now their 8-2 collective defeat indicates that, despite Bompastor’s vast experience and winning ability, they’re desperately missing former manager Emma Hayes’ tactical nous.
The now-United States boss guided Chelsea to within a touching distance of defeating the Spanish powerhouse and reaching a first continental final since 2019, when they lost 4-0 to the Catalans.
Despite their bruising exit from the Champions League, Chelsea are still on track for a domestic treble after winning the League Cup and reaching the FA Cup final. They are also six points clear at the top of the WSL table and could win a six consecutive title as early as next weekend.
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