Barcelona 4-1 Chelsea: Holders earn three-goal semi-final cushion

Barcelona will take a 4-1 lead to Chelsea for the second leg of their UEFA Women's Champions League semi-final next Sunday after the holders produced a convincing display.

Although Hannah Hampton saved an early Alexia Putellas penalty, Ewa Pajor ensured that Barcelona went in ahead at half-time. Competition leading scorer Clàudia Pina then came off the bench to score twice, either side of Sandy Baltimore's response and a headed goal from Irene Paredes. Barça will now be hopeful of completing a third straight last-four elimination of Chelsea.

Match in brief: Barcelona take control

Up against a pair of players who had been part of their previous semi-final triumphs against Chelsea in Lucy Bronze and Keira Walsh, Barcelona were keen to avoid the 1-0 home defeat they suffered in last year's first leg. They were given a boost when Caroline Graham Hansen was passed fit to start after sitting out Saturday training with illness, and Patri Guijarro had a shot deflected wide in the early exchanges.

They then had a penalty when a Paredes header from a corner hit the arm of Nathalie Björn. However, Hampton was able to keep out Alexia's spot kick with her legs.

Already missing several long-term absentees, and with Lauren James absent due to a hamstring injury, Chelsea continued to be pressed back. On 35 minutes, the pressure told, Alexia's defence-splitting past releasing Pajor, who coolly beat Hampton.

The visitors were finding chances hard to come by, but, just before half-time, an Aggie Beever-Jones free-kick forced Cata Coll into a diving save. Nevertheless, Barça remained the more lively side after the break, and the second goal arrived when Ona Batlle sent in a low cross from the right for Pina to turn in, shortly after replacing Graham Hansen.

Four minutes later, Chelsea were back in the tie. Catarina Macario played the ball across the pitch and, after Guro Reiten had dummied, Baltimore struck with an angled shot similar to her quarter-final goal against Manchester City. Injury to Björn meant Naomi Girma came on for her Champions League debut.

However, Barcelona restored their two-goal advantage when Pina's corner to the far post was headed in powerfully by Paredes. Pajor shot over late on as the holders looked to further increase their lead, and it was 4-1 when Pina registered again, set up by a superb Alexia back-heel.

Visa Player of the Match: Clàudia Pina (Barcelona)

Clàudia Pina came off the bench to score twice and get an assistUEFA via Getty Images

"It is unusual that you become Player of the Match when you enter the game on 66 minutes, but, in a game of small margins, Pina made the difference. She turned the game to Barcelona's advantage with her determination, clever movement and great finishing skills."
UEFA Technical Observer Group

Graham Hunter, match reporter

Coaches and players tell us all the time that it's a squad game, with everyone winning and losing together – and that was in evidence here. Chelsea substitute Macario set up the visitors' goal to reduce Barcelona's lead to 2-1, but the hosts' super-sub, Pina, scored two and made one to give the Blaugrana their first-ever home win against Chelsea. Enough to reach the final? Time will tell.

Reaction

Pere Romeu, Barcelona coach: "That was precisely the game we needed against a counterattacking team like Chelsea. They're very good, but we played well in midfield, kept the ball and didn't lose it. I'm so pleased with that and the fact we didn't let Chelsea get in behind us, as well as how the subs contributed.

"It's impossible for me to choose between a creative goal or a set-play goal. In open play, things went well, and I'm very, very happy with how we played. On the other hand, when you score from a practised set play, it shows that the detail we put into our preparation was worth it and has paid off."

Sonia Bompastor, Chelsea coach: "Intensity of concentration was a factor. Before the game, I reminded my players that, against Barcelona, every single detail is important. At 2-1, we made maybe some big mistakes in how we wanted to defend the box. They scored the third from the corner and, on the fourth goal, we weren't intense enough.

"It happens, but it's not good enough and we have to learn from that. I still believe in my team and my players, 100%. It'll be difficult, but the main goal is to score early in the return leg. In football, everything is possible – so let's try to win the game and, if we score early, maybe we can put Barcelona under pressure."

Clàudia Pina, Barcelona forward and Visa Player of the Match: "I honestly don't have too many of these Player of the Match awards. This is my first in a knockout tie, I think. When I'm on the bench, we've already spent a whole week analysing a rival like Chelsea. You have lots of ideas in your head. As the game goes on, you progress those ideas and look at where your team-mates are already creating gaps in the opponents' defence.

"My first goal was just an eruption of fury and joy, having only just come off the bench. It's euphoria. The pass to Irene from the corner was a set play we practised on Saturday, so I was thrilled it came off. The second goal seemed like a good addition to a fine scoreline, because it'll be a very different game over there."

Irene Paredes, Barcelona defender: "I'm so pleased to have contributed to the team and helped them get a reward for their huge level of work. This was an important result because we now have a second leg against a very good team. The game plan worked pretty well, the set plays to perfection. We wanted to have the ball as much as possible – that's what makes us strong, and we wanted to prevent them playing in behind us.

"Clàudia Pina is just lovely madness. Everything she does, she does really, really well. She accepts when she's on the bench, but her goals give us life."

Lucy Bronze, Chelsea defender: "Some of our quality on the ball could have been more. We could have got at them a bit more. We got them on the turn when we scored with that fantastic shot from Sandy, like in the previous round.

"Barcelona were sharper in tight spaces than we were, which is what they're known for. If we get shots off then we can score more goals against them. The whole rhythm of the game was very different from in England. This was much more of a Spanish tempo – we wanted to play a little more aggressively on the ball, but the staccato nature of the match worked against us."

Hannah Hampton saves Alexia Putellas' penaltyGetty Images

Key stats

• Pina increased her competition-leading tally of goals to nine, all of which have come in Barcelona's five home games.
• Baltimore also scored to pull Chelsea back to 2-1 on aggregate in their quarter-final comeback against Manchester City (although that was at the start of their home second leg).
• Pajor previously scored against Chelsea in a Women's Champions League semi-final for Wolfsburg in 2017/18. She also struck for the German club against Arsenal in the 2022/23 last four.
• Aiming for a record-equalling fifth straight final (and a third title in a row), Barcelona have never lost a European tie after winning the first leg. They have progressed through 17 consecutive two-legged ties since losing a 2017/18 quarter-final to Lyon.
• Since losing to Man City on Matchday 1, Barcelona have won eight straight games in this competition, scoring 40 goals.

Line-ups

Barcelona: Cata Coll; Batlle, Paredes, Mapi León (Engen 46), Brugts (Rolfö 81); Aitana, Patri, Alexia; Graham Hansen (Pina 66), Pajor, Paralluelo (Vicky López 88)

Chelsea: Hampton; Bronze, Björn (Girma 81), Bright, Baltimore; Walsh, Cuthbert; Rytting Kaneryd, Kaptein (Macario 61), Beever-Jones (Reiten 61); Ramírez (Nüsken 88)