April 22 – Barcelona bounced back from Alexia Putellas’ missed penalty to secure a dominant 4-1 win over Chelsea in the Women’s Champions League semi-finals on Sunday. Olympique Lyonnais hold a 2-1 advantage over Arsenal in the other last-four tie.
Putellas saw her penalty saved by Chelsea goalkeeper Hannah Hampton in the 12th minute, but the Catalan side fought back with two goals from substitute Clàudia Pina and one each from Ewa Pajor and Irene Paredes. Sandy Baltimore netted a consolation for Chelsea.
The victory marked Barcelona’s eighth consecutive win in UEFA’s premier club competition, with an impressive 40 goals scored during this streak following a 2-0 loss to Manchester City in the group stage.
“No winning scoreline is enough,” said Barcelona coach Pere Romeu. “There’s ample evidence in football that you can never rely on a first leg lead. We’re anticipating a tough battle at Stamford Bridge.”
Chelsea will host the second leg of the semi-final next Sunday. “I have complete faith in my team and my players,” said Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor. “It will be challenging, but our primary objective is to score early in the return leg. In football, anything is possible, so we’ll aim to win the game and, if we score early, perhaps put Barcelona under pressure.”
But history suggests Chelsea’s chances of progressing are slim. It’s the third time in a row that the clubs have faced each other in the last four and the Spanish entity have prevailed on the two previous occasions.
In the other semi-final, on Saturday, Lyon held off a second half comeback by Arsenal to take a 2-1 lead back to France – keeping the eight-time champions on track for another UWCL final appearance.
Wendie Renard and the competition’s record goalscorer Ada Hegerberg were not in the starting line-up, but an 82nd-minute goal from Melchie Dumornay decided the first leg in front of 45,045 fans at the Emirates Stadium, complicating Arsenal’s bid to reach the final of the competition for the first time since 2007.
The Women’s Champions League final will take place on May 24 in Lisbon, Portugal.
Contact the writer of this story, Samindra Kunti, at moc.l1745322327labto1745322327ofdlr1745322327owedi1745322327sni@i1745322327tnuk.1745322327ardni1745322327mas1745322327