At least this time it took a bit longer. When these two sides last met in the 2021 Champions League final in Gothenburg, Barcelona were ahead thanks to a freak Chelsea own goal after just 32 seconds. Here at Stamford Bridge, two years on, Chelsea held on for longer. Three minutes longer.
That was the time it took for the blue mass in west London to stop their cheering and start placing their heads in their hands. That was the time it took before Caroline Graham Hansen cut in from the right channel, Chelsea stood off, and the Norwegian struck a sumptuous long-range curling effort which sent the Spanish corner of the stadium into early delirium.
Barca have come seemingly from nowhere to become the most feared side on the planet in the last five years. They lead the Spanish league with 25 wins from 25 games this season — in which they have scored 105 goals and conceded just five.
Chelsea were playing with fire here, and they were certainly feeling the heat. Jonatan Giraldez’s side played around and through Chelsea — the Blues always a fraction behind, always second-guessing their opponents’ next move... wrongly.
Emma Hayes’s side were without their first-choice centre-back pairing of Millie Bright and Kadeisha Buchanan due to injury, and the makeshift back four could barely keep the Catalan giants at bay in the opening exchanges of this semi-final first-leg.
Lucy Bronze, who fans on these shores know all too well, fed Hansen. The Norwegian showed gorgeous poise to beat Niamh Charles and Jess Carter with a single move and then force the returning Ann-Katrin Berger into a save.
Brazil striker Geyse —who tormented England in the recent Finalissima at Wembley — struck on goal too. Chelsea, it seemed, despite being just one goal down, were not even in this match.
But just when Barca were looking irrepressible in their control of this affair, Chelsea wrestled their way up-field and had the ball in the net. Sam Kerr ran in behind and fed Guro Reiten, who finished past Sandra Panos.
Were Chelsea level from nowhere? They weren’t. Kerr had run off the shoulder of the full-back a split-second too early, but making the net rustle indicated Chelsea’s potency when they reach top gear. It was the catalyst for a much-improved final 20 minutes of the first half, assisted by the buoyant cheers from the 27,697-strong crowd - a British record for a Champions League game.
Bronze had to get back on the line to block Reiten’s goal-bound shot once the Norwegian had rounded goalkeeper Panos soon after. Chelsea were now well in the tie and posed a genuine threat with their breakaways. They hastened their attacks, shut the trap door at the back, and were perhaps a little unlucky not to be level by the time referee Jana Adamkova blew for the interval.
Hayes’s decision to drop Lauren James in favour of Jelena Cankovic had not paid off, and the Lioness came on at the break.
But as the clouds began to darken above Stamford Bridge, so too did proceedings become darker for Chelsea on the pitch below. Barca started to dictate play in much the same way they had controlled the opening exchanges. This time Chelsea were unable to weather the storm and tussle their way back into contention.
Bronze hobbled off with a knee injury — a sight that will have left Sarina Wiegman grimacing after already losing Beth Mead and now captain Leah Williamson to ACL injuries ahead of this summer’s World Cup. Bronze did eventually make it back to the dugout with her right knee heavily iced, and Wiegman will be praying it is nothing serious.
It was the only negative of the afternoon for Barca, who so nearly doubled their lead late on when Bronze’s replacement, Marta Torrejon, hit the post with a robust header from a corner.
Barca never got that second goal, but they never needed one. Chelsea didn’t look like scoring for all of the second half. What a mammoth task they have ahead of them at the Camp Nou on Thursday. If they were underdogs before kick-off, they’re a team in need of a minor miracle now.
