Key events
The last time Barcelona lost by three goals or more was in the 2019 Champions League final when Lyon beat them 4-1.
Lucy Bronze, who has won five Champions League titles including the 2019 trophy with Lyon, had some strong words for her Chelsea teammates after their first leg defeat. According to Sonia Bompastor, the Chelsea right-back said: “The second leg is a new opportunity for us, to play a home game with the support of the fans, and we need to believe it’s possible to turn things around.”
The teams
Chelsea: Hampton, Bronze, Bright, Girma, Charles, Walsh, Cuthbert, Nüsken, Kaneryd, Ramírez, Baltimore
Subs: Spencer, Cox, Lawrence, Mpome, Kaptein, Jean-Francois, Hamano, Reiten, Brown, Macario, Beever-Jones
Barcelona: Cata Coll, Paredes, María León, Clàudia Pina, Graham, Alexia, Patri, Aitana, Rolfö, Pajor, Batlle
Subs: Gemma, Roebuck, Jana, Paralluelo, Marta, Vicky, Engen, Brugts, Caño, Schertenleib
The statistics make for tough reading from a Chelsea perspective. Check out Tom Garry’s match preview.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to live coverage of the Women’s Champions League semi-final second leg between Chelsea and Barcelona.
Sonia Bompastor faces the biggest challenge of her Chelsea tenure today. In fact Bompastor said: “I think this one will be probably the biggest one [challenge] in my career as a manager.” Outplayed, outclassed and ultimately outscored in the first leg at the Estadi Johan Cruyff, Chelsea trail Barcelona 4-1 in the Champions League semi-final.
It’s a familiar situation for Barcelona who have made light work of Chelsea over the last few years. They beat Chelsea in the semi-final of the last two Champions League campaigns, and in the final of the 2020/21 season when they trounced Chelsea 4-0.
Remontada may be the most overused in football, but if Chelsea were to progress against the originators, it would be one of the greatest comebacks in their history. It looks unlikely but crazier things have happened.
Kick off is at 2pm. Email me to share your thoughts.
