It felt like a full circle moment.
As the Chelsea players stood in the Spanish sun, warmed by the admiration of the traveling support, it was hard to escape the feeling that this was a karmic, cosmic event - one that had been brewing since that heartbreaking defeat in the Champions League final. in Gothenburg, about three years ago.
On that occasion, Barcelona were imperious, taking a 4-0 lead in the first half without even breaking a sweat. Chelsea, for all their domestic dominance, looked like a team bewildered by their own mortality and unable to provide answers to the Catalans' incessant barrage of questions.
However, when the two sides faced off in the semi-finals of the competition on Saturday, it was clear that the Blues had done their homework. They have stymied and stifled a Barcelona team that has scored more than a century of goals in Liga F this season, reducing their goal tally to a single shot on target and building one of the most formidable defenses on the continent in the has been confused.
When Chelsea captain Erin Cuthbert put the visitors ahead at the Estadi Olímpic, it felt like the gauntlet had been thrown down. It was only forty minutes into the two-legged tie and yet it already felt like a small victory for Emma Hayes' side, almost as if they were warning the European champions: "We are here, we are not afraid of you and we are coming for your Crown."
When defender Jess Carter collected the Player of the Match Award at the whistle, it felt like the universe had conspired to serve up some poetic justice. The England international, one of only two survivors of the starting XI from that miserable night in Sweden, was the best player on the pitch in Catalonia and looked a million miles away from the overwhelmed young player who had looked completely out of her depth at Gamla Ullevi.
READ MORE: Chelsea scores stunning Champions League semi-final win over Barcelona as Erin Cuthbert shines READ MORE: Emma Hayes was left disappointed despite Chelsea Women's huge Champions League win over BarcelonaIt was Barcelona's first home defeat since February 2019 and the first time they have not scored since April 2022. But while the magnitude of the result was impossible to refute, there was a palpable sense that this was only half a job for the players. Chelsea and the West Londoners are bracing themselves for a big reaction when the teams meet at Stamford Bridge next weekend.
"I'm not here to break records, no disrespect to Barcelona, but that's not a trophy for me," Hayes said after the match. "We are here to compete for the Champions League and we are at half-time against the best team in the world, who did not play their best game today."
The Chelsea boss is right to urge caution. You'd have to go back to May 2022 to find the last time Jonatan Giráldez's side lost consecutive games, although both defeats took place in Europe.
For all the Blues' brilliant display in the first leg, Barcelona might consider it a misfortune that they failed to find the back of the net. Two-time Ballon d'Or winner Alexia Putellas shot incredibly wide from just a few yards out in stoppage time, while the hosts will have felt aggrieved when VAR overturned the award of a penalty for handball by Kadeisha Buchanan after finding that Salma Being parallel offside in the build-up.
"If VAR has noticed this, we cannot do anything," Barcelona star Aitana Bonmati told Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo. "I'm not in favor of playing with these breaks, but we knew that. We talked about Chelsea playing like this, which for me is dirty play. We warned the referee, but it's not up to us or them allow that." We have to know how to play with it."
It may sound like sour grapes from the current Ballon d'Or holder, but her comments offer insight into the mood in the Barcelona camp ahead of next weekend's match. The Catalans feel wronged and will do everything they can to avenge that perceived injustice when they travel to London in a few days.
And Giráldez's side don't have to look far to find the blueprint for success at Stamford Bridge. Only last year they secured a precious 1-0 semi-final win at SW6 thanks to Caroline Graham Hansen's early goal - a result which, combined with a 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture at Camp Nou, was enough to secure the securing Barcelona's passage to the final.
Anyone of Chelsea persuasion will know that the Catalans are more than capable of repeating that feat again. The fact that Hayes has called on Blues fans to sell out the Bridge on Saturday is proof enough of that.
"It is essential, we have seen many clubs sell stadiums during the biggest matches," said the Chelsea boss. "Our girls deserve it. They deserve to play in front of a full house to give ourselves the best possible chances because we will need them. Barcelona will throw absolutely everything at us."
With the Blues having seen their hopes of a quadruple vanish in recent weeks following their Conti Cup final defeat to Arsenal and FA Cup semi-final exit at the hands of Manchester United, it feels like next weekend's match The club's season will be decisive. When you consider that this is Chelsea's last chance to win the Champions League - the one trophy that has always eluded them - with Hayes at the helm, it's hard to shake the feeling that Barcelona's trip to West London will be the biggest game in the Blues will represent. recent history.
"We understand the team and the opponent," Hayes said. "They are world class with incredible players, but I don't think about fairytales."
Of course, the Chelsea boss - who is leaving at the end of the season to become manager of the US women's team - never intended to mention her. Perhaps better than anyone, she is well aware of the damage Barcelona can do to anyone who dares to take their foot off the accelerator.
The second leg will be played on Saturday April 27 at Stamford Bridge, which you can watch live on DAZN. You can watch Lyon's first leg against Paris Saint-Germain in the other semi-final on DAZN here.But with the clock ticking on her stellar career at Chelsea, the Blues will now surely feel stronger than ever that they are well-placed to give Hayes her dream ending.
