Chelsea suffer first leg defeat to Barcelona in Champions League - but it isn’t over yet

In Chelsea’s first ever major European final in 2021, Barcelona ran out comfortable 4-0 winners - three of those goals coming in the first 21 minutes of the game at Gamla Ullevi. It was a game Chelsea were never in. It was a humbling defeat.

Fast forward to 2023 and the sides faced each other yet again this afternoon in the first leg of semi-final in the same competition. For the 25,000+ fans packed into Stamford Bridge, the 1-0 defeat may leave them with a similar feeling of disappointment and while Barcelona were largely dominant, Chelsea will head to Spain next week knowing they are still well in this tie.

A far closer encounter than their 2021 Champions League Final clash, the game showed solid evidence of the growth of Emma Hayes’ side over the past two seasons. The WSL champions have recruited superbly and are the current favourites to win their fourth consecutive title this May. This time around, they at least gave Barcelona something to think about.

This Barca side are a different breed of animal to anyone else in Europe right now. Domestically, they have won all of their 25 league games, scoring an average of 4.2 goals per game. They’ve conceded just five goals all season but if anyone was to compete, it appears to be this Chelsea outfit who certainly had their moments.

A strong early challenge from Sam Kerr which knocked Mapi Leon to the floor evidenced the mood around the stadium - Chelsea were not here to make up the numbers this time and if the Spanish giants were to emerge victorious, they would have to fight for it.

However, if the level of task that Chelsea faced wasn’t clear enough, Caroline Graham Hansen’s outstanding opener which silenced the Stamford Bridge crowd after just four minutes literally hammered it home. Just eight minutes later, she could have made it two as Jess Carter struggled to contain the winger in the opening throws of the contest.

Hayes’ side would recover well though and even had the ball in the net through Guro Reiten in the 25th minute - though an offside flag against Kerr would put pay to the Chelsea celebrations. The Norweigian would latch on to an excellent flick on from the Australian moments later only to see Lucy Bronze clear off the line. The goal didn’t come but no one could have argued if it had during those moments.

Marta Torrejón would see a header cannon back of the post while Kerr remained a threat on the counter for the home side but in truth, second half chances would be few and far between for both teams, with Barcelona largely dominating possession as the home side tired.

Pernille Harder made her long awaited return for injury from the bench but how they would have loved to include both Millie Bright and Fran Kirby in the starting XI this afternoon. The duo’s absence being most definitely felt with Chelsea’s squad continues to be stretched as they compete across three competitions.

Ultimately, the result may have ended in similar fashion as 2021’s final with Jonatan Giráldez’s side departing London with a valuable first leg lead but Chelsea can travel to the Nou Camp next week knowing that they are still in this tie and, especially in football, anything can happen.