Chelsea Women set up mouth-watering semi with Barca

Chelsea Women 3-0 Manchester City Women (3-2 on aggregate)

It's a rare privilege to report on a match where all 11 starters have an equal claim to the player-of-the-match tag, but Chelsea's 3-0 turnaround win against Man City in the Women's Champions League second quarter-final leg is one such.

The Blues flew at City from the moment Portuguese ref Catarina Campos raised whistle to lips, and Nick Cushing's Mancunians kicked off at Stamford Bridge for a brief few seconds that proved one of their few real, sustained possession of a riveting match.

Two down from the first leg, but oddly inspired by arch-rivals Arsenal's similar turnabout against Real Madrid at the Emirates the night before, Thursday evening's boisterous crowd at the Bridge were treated to a true spectacle.

Left back Sandy Baltimore drew first blood after 13 minutes of pressure and harassment by the home side, walloping home a divine volley after the ball fell to her when Lucy Bronze's initial effort had boinged back off the post.

With only rare forays into enemy territory by City, an agog crowd in the lower tiers of the Bridge's stands were delighted, but not surprised, when – in the 38th minute – a Baltimore corner was firmly nodded home by centre back Nathalie Björn for 2-0… her very presence in the middle of the City box summing up Chelsea's attacking mindset.

Spin the clock on another six minutes and it was 3-0. Lauren James, as strong as a battleship but as manoeuvrable as a pedalo, weaved through to the byline and put the ball on a plate for Mayra Ramirez to sweep home.

And that was that. Oh yes, we had a second half of football to play out, but the job was done, Chelsea kept their foot on the gas, striking both posts and crossbar with further attempts, while restricting City to the briefest of half-chances.

Mouth-watering prospect

It sets up the mouth-watering prospect of a semi against holders Barcelona, while Arsenal will face Lyon. Then – crazy though it sounds – this remarkable season could conclude with the Gunners playing the Blues in Lisbon in the final!

Shorn of options on the bench, a frustrated Cushing could find no switches, no tactical changes to nullify the sustained Chelsea attack. While Sonia Bompastor was able to list a full complement of 10 subs, injuries limited him to five, with just four of them outfield players.

Why, the question remains, didn't he at least fill the bench with promising academy players to give them vital big-night experience, and to broaden his scope to mix things up?

At the very least it would have made the teamsheet look less imbalanced. Chelsea, too, have a shoal of injuries, with Guro Reiten, Sam Kerr, Uncle Tom Cobley and all, watching from the rows behind the dugout. From the luxury of an upstairs box, James's big bro Reece also looked on, cheering little sis's every move.

This was a magnificent show of strength, partly inspired by the 'Can we play you every week?' mocking chant which could be heard in spells from the City fans watching the first leg in Manchester; a match that remains Bompastor's only defeat in charge.

"As a team we had to defend all together," said the gaffer in her post-match analysis, sparing kind words for the injury-riven side she'd had to face four times in a dozen hectic days in all competitions.

"I'm allowing myself to just enjoy a perfect night for us," she added, although she still imposed a pre-midnight curfew on her stars.

I'm really proud of my players. We believed it was possible, and that made the difference."

And Barca in the semis? "We'll do everything possible," she said, subtly toning down the Bompastor bombast. "It will be a tough challenge, but everything is possible. We had a really great performance today."

First up, though, is the chance to properly cement the charge towards a sixth successive league title with a WSL clash against West Ham at Kingsmeadow on Sunday afternoon.