The Nou Camp was rocking by the end, relieved they could finally get the party started. Barcelona are through to their third Women’s Champions League final in a row, their fourth in five seasons, but Chelsea had made them hang on until the final moment. Emma Hayes wanted her side to remain in the tie, and Chelsea managed to do so until the last whistle. They completed one half of their sizable task and stopped Barcelona from winning at home. Accomplishing the other, knocking Barcelona out with a win in the Nou Camp, was beyond them.
But Chelsea can hold their heads high. As the majority of the 72,262 clapped in unison at full time, and the Barcelona players saluted the sea of red, blue and yellow, Hayes gathered her players in the centre of the vast expanse. They had given everything; they had suffered, survived, and allowed Hayes to finally gamble as Lauren James and Pernille Harder were brought on, in what was Chelsea’s final assault. Barcelona were nervous and Chelsea felt it. Just one chance would have done it, but nothing fell.
