Erin Cuthbert's goal gave the Blues a 1-0 win in Catalunya and if they avoid defeat at Stamford Bridge next week, they'll be in the UWCL final
Chelsea caused an incredible shock on Saturday afternoon when their 1-0 win in Catalunya ended Barcelona's incredible unbeaten streak at home, one which stretched back to February 2019. There is still a second leg at Stamford Bridge to come, one in which Barca will no doubt be better and throw everything at their hosts, but the Blues are now just one game away from the Women's Champions League final.
Erin Cuthbert's goal decided the game, Sjoeke Nusken doing some fantastic work in the Barca box before teeing the Scot up to strike into the top corner before half-time. It felt like Chelsea would have to do some backs-to-the-wall defending to see the game out but that wasn't really the case. The Catalans dominated possession, yes, but their biggest chances didn't come until the final minutes of the game and England goalkeeper Hannah Hampton didn't have a single save to make in the opposing goal.
Barca did think they had a penalty just after half-time but VAR intervened as Salma Paralluelo was adjudged to have been interfering with play from an offside position at the same time that Kadeisha Buchanan handled the ball. If anyone thought that was controversial, it was probably evened out by Irene Paredes getting away with a kick on Mayra Ramirez in the other box a little later on.
Despite the reigning European champions being nowhere near their best, they will still feel they should not have lost this game after carving out two huge opportunities to get at least a draw. First, Paralluelo could only connect with Caroline Graham Hansen's cross with her shin, thus sending it well wide, then Alexia Putellas had a golden chance with the last kick of the game, only to miss the target from close range.
Chelsea had to ride their luck a little bit in the closing moments but it would be harsh to say they didn't deserve a positive result. After all, their game plan was perfect and the players executed it brilliantly. Do that one more time, back in London on April 27, and they will be in a second Women's Champions League final.
GOAL breaks down the winners & losers from Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys…
Getty ImagesWINNER: Erin Cuthbert
Erin Cuthbert has been one of Chelsea's best and most consistent performers this season. However, she probably doesn't get the credit she deserves for that, maybe because of the battling midfield role she plays as opposed to one of a headline-grabbing forward.
Her superb strike against Barcelona in this first leg could go a long way in helping her to get that recognition. It wasn't just that which made her performance so impressive in Catalunya either, with her also ranking second for tackles won and possession won as Chelsea kept an unlikely clean sheet.
Cuthbert's leadership was another vital part of an incredible day's work and the Scot could well be leading her team out in a Champions League final next month, if she can guide them to another positive result at Stamford Bridge.
AdvertisementGettyLOSER: Alexia Putellas
If Barcelona were able to pick which player they would want a golden chance in the final minute of the game to fall to, Putellas would possibly be that player. We're talking about a two-time Ballon d'Or winner, one of the very best footballers on this planet, someone who has won almost everything possible in her career to date.
Yet, when the ball fell to her in a fantastic position in stoppage-time on Saturday, she missed. The opportunity was there to make it 1-1 with the final kick of the game and she somehow sent her shot wide of the goal. It was a moment that capped a difficult afternoon for Putellas, one she started on Barca's bench.
That will have been a frustration in itself for one of the game's best but she's had some injury troubles this season and has her work cut out trying to re-establish herself in Barca's best XI, following the arrival of Keira Walsh during her ACL rehab and the way that others have been performing, too.
That she couldn't take this opportunity to be a stoppage-time hero will be even tougher to get over, with her sure to be replaying the moment over and over in her head for a little while yet.
Getty ImagesWINNER: Emma Hayes
Chelsea needed the perfect game plan to beat Barca and that is exactly what Hayes crafted. The manager dusted off the 5-3-2 set-up that has not been seen for quite a while, shifted attacker-turned-defender Niamh Charles into an unfamiliar role in the back three and deployed Ashley Lawrence to her left in a move that was extremely effective in limiting Caroline Graham Hansen's influence. On the opposite side, Johanna Rytting Kaneryd was excellent up and down the right, while Jess Carter, starting just inside of her, was a colossus in a back three that seems to suit her more than a back four.
Further forward, there was a big question of what to do with Lauren James and Mayra Ramirez and Hayes decided to start them together, which worked a treat. They were never going to steal the show away at the European champions but the way James was able to give Chelsea some respite when she got on the ball, and how Ramirez caused problems with her physicality, proved the perfect formula.
The players deserve a lot of credit for executing Hayes' plan so well, too, and the manager will hope both can repeat this success with their approach to the second leg.
GettyLOSER: Salma Paralluelo
Putellas wasn't the only top quality player guilty of missing a big chance to give Barca a more favourable result. Paralluelo has scored 30 goals in all competitions for the Catalans this season, including six in the Champions League, but she lacked that clinical touch when Chelsea came to town.
The big chance came five minutes from time and she failed to connect with the ball as she would've liked, as Graham Hansen's cross bounced off her shin and out for a goal-kick. That, however, wasn't the only disappointing moment from a 20-year-old who has so often looked at home on the biggest of stages.
Paralluelo's decision-making in general was off, with there a particular moment in the second half that stood out in that sense, when she opted to have a shot at goal from the edge of the box rather than feeding a wide open team-mate to her left. As a young player, she's still growing and improving but sadly this just wasn't her day, as was the case for most of the Barca team.
