Barcelona with one leg in CL final in Eindhoven after win at Stamford Bridge

FC Barcelona took a big step toward the final of the Women’s Champions League, which will be played in Eindhoven this year. At a Stamford Bridge filled with 27,697 spectators, Chelsea were beaten 0-1.

Next Thursday is the return at Camp Nou. The other semifinal is between Arsenal and VfL Wolfsburg. The German team of Jill Roord, Dominique Janssen and Lynn Wilms will play the away game tomorrow at home against the English club of Victoria Pelova and the injured Vivianne Miedema.

There are no Orange internationals under contract at Chelsea and Barcelona. The opening goal fell after only four minutes. Norwegian striker Caroline Graham Hansen quieted Stamford Bridge with a fine long-range shot into the far corner.

That early 0-1 sent many people’s thoughts back to the 2021 Champions League final between the two teams. Barcelona with the outstanding Lieke Martens (now active at PSG) overwhelmed Chelsea and led 3-0 after twenty minutes, eventually winning 4-0.

Things didn’t go that badly in London this afternoon. Chelsea fought their way back into the game after the early setback. Through Norwegian left winger Guro Reiten, the home team was twice close to the equalizer.

First, Reiten slid the ball into the goal, but her goal was disallowed due to offside by server Sam Kerr. A few minutes later she rounded goalkeeper Sandra Paños, but her effort was cleared off the line by Lucy Bronze, an English defender in Spanish service.

In the second half, Barcelona had a slight advantage, but it did not produce a second goal. The closest substitute Marta Torrejon came with a header on the post from a corner kick.