Chelsea Women 1-4 Barcelona Women (2-8 on agg)
It was always going to be a mountain to climb, but Chelsea Women never even navigated the foothills against a superior Barcelona team in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final.
Despite being cheered on by nearly 27,000 fans at Stamford Bridge on a warm Sunday afternoon, the Blues lost 4-1, making it an embarrassing 8-2 defeat over both legs.
Worse still, arch rivals Arsenal cruised past Lyon in France in their second leg, reversing a defeat at the Emirates, and will now face the Spanish holders in the final in Lisbon on May 24.
It leaves Chelsea in contention for a domestic treble, with two crucial WSL away games on the trot against Manchester United and Spurs, but the mood at the Bridge was somewhere between dejected and depressed as Swedish ref Tess Olofsson blew the whistle at the end.
"We must bounce back against United; all good teams do that," said manager Sonia Bompastor in a sombre post-match press conference. "It's a team performance today… and I don't think the team performed."
After a well-observed minute's silence for the Pope before kick-off, Chelsea held out against the Spanish visitors for nearly half an hour. If anything, the Blues came closest to opening the scoring when Sjoeke Nusken's shot was stopped by the outstretched leg of goalie Cata Coll after 24 minutes.
But two minutes later came a gallop down the right wing by Aitana Bonmati, who vaulted a tackle by Niamh Charles (starting in an unfamiliar central defensive pairing with captain Millie Bright). The midfielder arrowed in on goal and fired a superb right-foot volley over the flailing arms of Hannah Hampton.
It seemed to knock the stuffing out of Chelsea, who had been hoping that an early goal might sow seeds of doubt in the Spanish team and pave the way for an unlikely comeback from their 4-1 defeat at the Johan Cruyff stadium.
On 41 minutes, Caroline Graham Hansen squared and Ewa Pajor converted from close range. Two minutes later it was really all over as Claudia Pina scooped a shot past Hampton for a 3-0 lead to the visitors at half-time.
Bompastor scratched her head as the teams made their way down the tunnel, with the small knot of Barcelona fans whooping and cheering in the Shed lower.
The gaffer shuffled the pack after the interval, bringing on Aggie Beever-Jones for the ineffective Mayra Ramirez, and Ashley Lawrence for Naomi Girma – who was a curious choice as starter anyway as she has only made two appearances for Chelsea since her world record million-dollar transfer from San Diego, and still hasn't adapted to the pace and pattern of the English game, never mind European football.
But while the Blues made the odd promising upfield attack, they were always going to be vulnerable to swift counters.
On the hour mark Bompastor took off Sandy Baltimore and Erin Cuthbert and brought on Wieke Kaptein and Catarina Macario, later adding Maika Hamano to the mix in place of winger Jo-Jo Rytting-Kaneryd.
But it made little difference. Just as the fourth official was holding up the board indicating two extra minutes at the end, sub Salma Paralluelo capitalised on confusion between Charles and Hampton over who should deal with a long lobbed ball, and managed to add another goal to Barcelona's tally.
There was time for a brief home celebration as Chelsea sub Kaptein fired in a right-foot volley for a late consolation in the dying seconds, but there was no disguising the bitter disappointment around the stadium at the final whistle.
"Everyone is really sad about the result, and the performance," said Bompastor in a frank and honest interview after the game. "We were not clinical. Had we scored the first goal, the game could have been different."
Too few players in blue performed to their customary domestic level, with Ramirez looking particularly lost. Sam Kerr's return, still predicted before the end of the season, can't come quickly enough. "You need to show more pride going into a game," said Bompastor pointedly, adding: "I know what we need to do to be a better team."
Barca coach Pere Romeu, who now faces the Gunners in the final after their impressive 4-1 away win in France (5-3 on aggregate), said: "We are very happy with the result; I enjoyed it. The players are really looking forward to the final. With Chelsea's high press it meant we could attack with our midfield, and I'm very happy with our goals."
Losing 8-2 over two legs of a European semi-final will take some getting over. Chelsea fans will be hoping it doesn't derail the two remaining challenges – staying ahead of Arsenal in the race for the league title, and beating Man Utd in the FA Cup final at Wembley.
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and unless specifically stated are not necessarily those of Hammersmith & Fulham Council.
