Women's Champions League semi-final second legs on Sunday: Chelsea vs Barcelona, Lyon vs Arsenal
Tuesday, April 22, 2025
Article summary
Will it be a record-equalling fourth Lyon-Barcelona final or can London rivals Arsenal and Chelsea produce a pair of semi-final comebacks?
Article top media content
Article body
The UEFA Women's Champions League semi-finals conclude on Sunday. We look ahead as the Lisbon finalists are decided.
Road to Lisbon
Semi-finals second legs
Sunday 27 April
Chelsea vs Barcelona (15:00, first leg: 1-4)
Lyon vs Arsenal (18:00, first leg: 2-1)
Final (Estádio José Alvalade, Lisbon)
Saturday 24 May
Arsenal / Lyon vs Barcelona / Chelsea (18:00)
All times CET
Chelsea vs Barcelona (First leg: 1-4)
Chelsea vs Barcelona in Europe
2024/25 semi-final first leg: Barcelona 4-1 Chelsea
2023/24 semi-finals: Barcelona 0-1/2-0 Chelsea (agg: 2-1)
2022/23 semi-finals: Chelsea 0-1/1-1 Barcelona (agg: 1-2)
2020/21 final: Chelsea 0-4 Barcelona (Gothenburg)
First-named team at home in opening leg of two-legged ties
For the third year in a row, Chelsea and Barcelona are matched in a semi-final second leg falling on 27 April. Two years ago they drew 1-1 at Camp Nou and last season Barcelona won 2-0 at Stamford Bridge, each time progressing 2-1 on aggregate. Chelsea will not lose by that scoreline overall this time but have a massive task if they are to reach their second final following Barcelona's 4-1 first-leg win.
It was still 1-0 to Barça through Ewa Pajor midway through the second half but the holders then introduced competition top scorer Clàudia Pina, who got her eighth and ninth goals of the campaign either side of her corner being headed in by Irene Paredes, just after Sandy Baltimore had pulled it back to 2-1. Barcelona have won their last 17 two-legged Champions League ties over a seven-year period and have never gone out after a first-leg victory. Since their Matchday 1 loss at Manchester City, the Catalan side have won eight times in a row in Europe, scoring 40 goals.
Barcelona are going for a record-equalling fifth straight final, and third title in a row, but Chelsea can take heart from their quarter-final comeback against Manchester City when they scored three times in a breathless Stamford Bridge first half to overturn their 2-0 away defeat. Chelsea coach Sonia Bompastor, who oversaw Lyon's 3-1 defeat of Barcelona in the 2022 final, is without Lauren James due to a hamstring injury in addition to longer-term absentees including Sam Kerr. Nathalie Björn was also forced off in the first leg, meaning a Champions League debut for January signing Naomi Girma.
Lyon vs Arsenal (first leg: 2-1)
Lyon vs Arsenal in Europe
2024/25 semi-final first leg: Arsenal 1-2 Lyon
2022/23 group stage: Lyon 1-5 Arsenal, Arsenal 0-1 Lyon
2010/11 semi-finals: Lyon 2-0/3-2 Arsenal (agg: 5-2)
2008/09 second qualifying round: Lyon 3-0 Arsenal (played in Lyon)
2007/08 quarter-finals: Lyon 0-0/3-2 Arsenal (agg: 3-2)
First-named team at home in opening leg of two-legged ties
Lyon, aiming for a 12th final in this 24-year-old competition, won 2-1 at Arsenal last Saturday as although Mariona Caldentey's penalty cancelled out Kadidiatou Diani's opener, the outstanding Melchie Dumornay dinked in with eight minutes to go. Whereas Lyon have fallen just twice in their 14 semi-finals, Arsenal must now overturn a deficit to avoid a seventh exit in their eight last-four ties, but then they have already done so in both their previous knockout ties this season against Häcken and Real Madrid, albeit at home. And only last season, Barcelona were beaten 1-0 at home in the first leg of their semi-final with Chelsea and still were able to get to the decider (and defeat Lyon).
Missing goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar due to injury, Arsenal seemed if anything the more likely first-leg winner when Mariona converted her 78th-minute penalty. But Lyon have been formidable all season under former Gunners coach Joe Montemurro and the combination of Dumornay, Diani and Tabitha Chawinga bore fruit yet again. That has helped them win all nine games in the competition this season; no team have ever had a ten-game streak from the start of a campaign (Umeå won all nine of their matches in 2003/04 and Barcelona had a similar start to Lyon in 2021/22 but lost their remaining two games).
The win came despite Wendie Renard having to sit out the first leg on the bench due to a foot injury. If she features on Sunday she will bring up her 500th Lyon appearance, and 125th in the Women's Champions League. Arsenal will take hope from the biggest defeat in those previous 499, the Gunners' 5-1 win at Lyon on Matchday 1 of this competition in 2022/23, when Caitlin Foord and Beth Mead both scored twice and Frida Maanum was also on target. Arsenal, whose campaign began in round 1, will break one Lyon record by becoming the first team to play 14 matches in a single campaign in this competition.
Where is the 2025 UEFA Women's Champions League final being played?
Estádio José Alvalade in Lisbon will stage the 2025 UEFA Women's Champions League final on Saturday 24 May.
The home of Sporting CP opened in 2003 ahead of UEFA EURO 2004 in Portugal, replacing another stadium of the same name. It hosted a semi-final of that tournament, among other games, and was the venue for the UEFA Cup decider the following year.
The 2025 final will be the second Women's Champions League showpiece to be held in Lisbon after 2014, when Estádio do Restelo staged Wolfsburg's 4-3 win against Tyresö.