42 mins: The delay has taken most of the tempo out of the game.
Bonmatí and Rolfo score to send Barcelona into the final at Chelsea’s expense
Updated
Sat 27 Apr 2024 14.39 EDT
First published on Sat 27 Apr 2024 11.30 EDT
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Key events
40 mins: Chelsea are looking lively in the final third at the moment.
Paredes is being treated in the Barcelona box, so we have a little delay.
38 mins: An atrocious backpass is intercepted by Leupolz and she is through goal but decides to pull the ball back to James who completely misses her shot.
The referee gets in the way of Leupolz just outside the Barcelona box and the home fans are not happy. Hayes is having a word with the fourth official for good measure.
Gordon gets in touch to say: “Chelsea letting Barca play in the middle third - they are not pressing them like last week. Looks a difficult game for Chelsea now.”
36 mins: Macario plucks the ball out of the sky, takes a touch and volleys from 20 yards but Coll moves quickly across her line to palm clear.
34 mins: Kaneryd latches onto her pass down the right but her cross is easily caught by Coll.
32 mins: Leupolz hits the bar with pretty much an open goal in front of her after James’s cutback. I am not completely sure how she’s missed it.
30 mins: Graham gets to the byline and pulls the ball back for Paralluelo but Cuthbert slides in to force a corner.
Hampton fails to deal with the corner and there is a touch of pinball before the goalkeeper reclaims possession.
28 mins: Bonmati is now down after getting the ball kicked into her face. Her nose is a touch bloody and is being wiped down.
GOAL! Chelsea 0-1 Barcelona (Bonmati 25) agg 1-1
The midfielder receives the ball on the edge of the box, gets it out of her feet and takes aim, before watching the shot take a deflection off Buchanan and find the corner.
24 mins: It is hard work out there for Chelsea with Barcelona dominating possession. Charles battles with Graham in the box and wins the ball back for Chelsea before clearing.
22 mins: Barcelona win a corner on the left. It is taken short and Chelsea clear at the front post.
Hampton is the first goalkeeper to be tested, saving a down to her right from a Graham shot hit from the edge of the box.
20 mins: Chelsea’s plan to get out mainly involves finding James with a direct pass and hope the striker has the pace to do some damage. James reaches a pass down the left and makes it to the box but is forced to turnaround.
18 mins: Chelsea fail to clear the ball to give Barcelona a sniff of a chance but the Blues regroup and get rid.
16 mins: Chelsea enjoy a decent spell of possession but it concludes with a dreadful shot from Cuthbert which ends up in row Z.
14 mins: Hampton takes a little too long to clear a backpass and just about gets away with it as Paralluelo chases her down.
12 mins: Barcelona are looking pretty slick in possession. It could be a tricky evening at Stamford Bridge for the Blues but they are keeping the visitors are bay for now.
10 mins: Bronze lifts a great cross into the box but Patri’s touch is a poor one and the ball bounces out of play.
8 mins: Chelsea are being given little to no room to work in, resulting in Buchanan sending an aimless ball over the top that reaches no one in blue.
Carter crashes into the hoardings after giving away a corner. She looks to have hurt her elbow but gets back to her feet.
6 mins: It is a full house at Stamford Bridge. They are watching a comfortable Barcelona team knock the ball about without threatening the Chelsea defence.
4 mins: Chelsea are moving the ball quickly and Macario looks to find James with a through ball but she puts a little too much on the pass.
2 mins: It’s been an intense start from both teams. Barcelona are not giving Chelsea a second on the ball, who are doing their best to knock it about.
Kick off
Peep! Peep! Peep! Here we go!
Gordon emails: “Looking forward to this big occasion at a sold-out Stamford Bridge. Regarding the starters, I think Barca are going to play Batlle and Rolfo on their left, looking to exploit Kaneryd defensively. Ramirez a big miss for Chelsea, her hold-up play in the first leg was excellent, I presume she is injured.”
The players are on their way …
Emma Hayes: “You have to try to make it like any other game. You can’t build things up too much, it takes too much energy away from what you have to do on the pitch.”
Why not just wear the shirt?
Look forward to the other semi.
Suzanne Wrack previews the match.
Starting lineups
Chelsea: Hampton, Lawrence, Carter, Buchanan, Charles, Cuthbert, Leupolz, Nusken, James, Kaneryd, Macario
Subs: Musovic, Bright, Ingle, Reiten, Kirby, Perisset, Mjelde, Cankovic, Beever-Jones, Bjorn
Barcelona: Cata Coll, Paredes, Paralluelo, Graham, Patri, Bonmati, Bronze, Rolfo, Walsh, Batlle, Engen
Subs: Panos, Gemma, Jana, Pina, Marta, Mariona, Alexia, Bruna. Brugts, Vicky, Martina
Hello
Chelsea are halfway there after winning the first leg 1-0 away in Catalonia but Barcelona have the quality to turn this around. They have made a mockery of the Spanish league, dropping two points all season, scoring 106 goals in 24 matches, so notching a couple at Stamford Bridge is not exactly impossible.
Emma Hayes is desperate to finish her tenure as Chelsea manager with the Champions League and the players know it. This is rapidly becoming the most important trophy in west London and the team will be eager to get the job done.
Let’s hope for a cracker.
Kick-off: 5.30pm BST.
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