A bright sunny afternoon at Stamford Bridge in London with Chelsea FC Women hosting FC Barcelona Femeni in the 1st leg of their UEFA Women’s Champions League semi-final (UWCL) clash.
First Half
The game started well for Barcelona who bagged a goal in the 3rd minute courtesy of a beautiful strike from Caroline Graham Hansen. The Norwegian winger received the ball from Geyse close to the touchline and drove into space before releasing a shot from the edge of the box that went past Chelsea’s goalkeeper.
However, the goal didn’t dampen the spirits of the host as they searched for an equalizer to respond to Barcelona’s early lead. Barcelona who for the better part of the half didn’t look close to their brilliant best had to struggle against their English counterparts.
Chelsea put the ball in the back of the net in the 24th minute after a break away from Barcelona’s backline. The Blaugrana survived the scare though thanks to the offside flag. Less than 5 minutes after that scare, Lucy Bronze had to make a crucial block to deny Chelsea.
The half was evenly poised as both sides tried to maintain the balance between defense and attack to keep the opposition at bay.
Second Half
Barcelona dominated the game for the majority of the second half as Chelsea didn’t look as lively as they did in the first half of the game. The Blues looked tired and chased after the ball a lot less than they did in the first 45 minutes.
However, Barcelona were unable to capitalize on this as they couldn’t secure a second goal to enhance their advantage going into the second leg of the tie.
Although it wasn’t for lack of trying as Paralluelo, and Rolfo registered shots on target. Marta Torrejon struck the post with a header late in the game after coming on for Lucy Bronze who was substituted due to injury.
Barcelona saw the game out taking a 1-0 victory back to Spain where the second leg will be played at the Spotify Camp Nou.
Goals and Assists
4’ GOAL – Caroline Graham Hansen
Substitutions
60’ Geyse Ferreira – OUT
Mariona Caldentey – IN
67’ Lucy Bronze – OUT
Marta Torrejon – IN
85’ Caroline Graham Hansen, Keira Walsh, and Salma Paralluelo – OUT
Ana Maria Crnogocervic, Asisat Oshoala, and Ingrid Engen – IN
The win against Chelsea sets Barcelona up for another appearance in the UEFA Women’s Champions League final for the third year in a row.
Victory at the Bridge gives Barcelona an advantage in the tie
The first match of the semi-final of the UEFA Women’s Champions League saw Barcelona earn a 1-0 victory over Chelsea. The win gives Barcelona an advantage going into the second leg at the Spotify Camp Nou. A tricky game for both sides that produced a single goal scored by Barcelona very early in the game.
We take a look at how Barcelona got the victory and what that victory means going into the second leg of the tie.
Barcelona tried to play safe
The pre-match buildup took a look at the record of both teams in the competition this season, it was always going to be a tough test for either side. A game where the best-attacking side is facing off against the best defensive side in the competition
Barcelona didn’t look their brilliant best in the game at Chelsea as the side tried to play it safe. The usual flow of attacking football that comes with a plethora of goal-scoring chances wasn’t the spectacle the Blaugrana put on display.
After Graham’s goal, the team lacked the usual urgency to go forward and get more goals as often seen in their previous games. Chelsea then scored a goal that was ruled out for offside in the 25 minutes, thus sending a warning to Barcelona. With this signal, Barcelona had to take change their approach towards the game from their usual attacking-minded football to a more balanced approach that ensures that the team does not take unnecessary risks that leave the defense exposed and allow Chelsea to get a goal that would bring them back into the game.
Importance of an early goal
In the 4th minute, Caroline Graham Hansen scored the only goal of the game to hand Barcelona a first-leg victory in the semi-final tie. As the game went on in the first half Barcelona looked complacent and failed to create clear goal-scoring opportunities.
Things changed in the second half though as Barcelona dominated the game. However, the Spanish side failed to get another goal, and this made Graham’s goal in the first half even more important.
Our attackers need to be more involved in the game
After the goal in the early minutes of the game, the side failed to create any attacking threat cause the front line wasn’t involved in the game as we’ve been so used to seeing over the years.
The wingers, Graham Hansen and Salma Paralluelo had to drop to the midfield a lot more to contribute to the play and Geyse looked isolated for most of the first half.
And whenever the team got a chance to break away in a counter, the midfielders failed to pick up the runs of the attackers, leaving them with little to no influence on the game.
The attackers got more involved in the second half and there was an obvious improvement in the teams’ performance.
Lucy’s injury
The victory against Chelsea was only soured by the loss of Lucy Bronze to injury, the English right-back was forced off in the 67th minute after limping off due to what looked like a knee injury. More information about the injury and her recovery date would be released in the coming days.
Barcelona will hope the injury is not too serious, and that the defender will be available for selection soon.
All to play for in the second leg
With just a single goal between them, we look forward to an exciting game in the second leg. Chelsea would be looking to get back in the game and Barcelona would be aiming at putting the game out of reach of their opponents.
A huge turnout is to be expected in the second leg of the tie to be played at Spotify Camp Nou. The presence of the home fans would be an additional boost in morale for Barcelona who look to play in their 3rd consecutive UWCL final.
