Key events
12 min: Some scary seconds for Chelsea as Buchanan clears after Bonmati and Graham Hansen both make incursions.
10 min: Chelsea continue to look solid if not too capable of attacking. Kaneryd sets off on a sojourn into the heart of the Barca defence but the ball is eventually cleared.
9 min: Ramirez is penalised for pressing hard on Batlle.
7 min: Jess Carter has to knock behind when Graham Hansen sets up an attack, and the Norwegian will take the corner. The ball ends up in the hands of Hannah Hampton but there were some nerves there.
6 min: Chelsea on the attack, where Carter decides to keep the ball and it finds itself to Niamh Charles. Good patient play before Lauren James sets off on a run. The ball is lost but this is far better from Chelsea.
4 min: Decent couple of minutes for Chelsea in being able to break up the flow of Barcelonaâs passing tempo.
2 min: Reminder: Chelsea have never beaten Barcelona. It already looks as if they will have to suffer, do plenty of defending.
And away we go!
1 min: Itâs sunny in Barcelona, where they are playing at the Johan Cruyff Stadium. Bonmati, soon enough, gets a touch, as does Keira Walsh at the base of midfield. Graham Hansen has a sniff of a chance but slips over.
The teams are in the tunnel, and the Barcelona anthems are ringing out.
Barbara Charone is the legendary music biz PR behind Madonna, Keith Richards, Depeche Mode and many more. An American, sheâs nevertheless Proper Chels.
Chelsea board member Barbara Charone is here in Barcelona. Will be only the third time sheâs missed a menâs Chelsea game at Wembley in 40 years, but she made the decision to come and watch the womenâs Champions League semi-final instead.
— Kathryn Batte (@KathrynBatte) April 20, 2024
Those teams: For Chelsea: Lauren James is back from injury, while Millie Bright is in the matchday squad for the first time since November after recovering from a knee injury. Guro Reiten is also on the bench. Melanie Leupolz, Erin Cuthbert, Johanna Rytting Kaneryd and Mayra Ramirez all come in, five changes since the midweek defeat of Aston Villa.
For Barca: Lucy Bronze is on the bench but Keira Walsh will play in midfield alongside Aitana Bonmati, the best player in the game.
At the start of March there was talk of a historic quadruple, Hayes having been part of the Arsenal setup that achieved the feat in 2007 as assistant manager to Vic Akers. Now, whisper it, a departure from club football after a trophyless season, with Barcelona firm favourites to reach a fifth final in six years and Manchester City level on points with the reigning Womenâs Super League champions, is far from unlikely.
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The teams
Barcelona: Coll, Batlle, Paredes, Engen, Rolfo, Bonmati, Walsh, Guijarro, Hansen, Paralluelo, Caldentey. Subs: Panos, Jana Fernandez, Pina, Torrejon, Putellas, Bronze, Vilamala, Brugts, Dragoni, Lopez, Arias, Martina Fernandez.
Chelsea: Hampton, Lawrence, Carter, Buchanan, Charles, Kaneryd, Cuthbert, Nusken, Leupolz, Ramirez, James. Subs: Musovic, Bright, Ingle, Macario, Reiten, Kirby, Perisset, Beever-Jones, Cox.
Preamble
Emma Hayesâ victory lap will not end in a quadruple but the double is still on. Thatâs if her Chelsea team can beat the best club side in womenâs football. A glance at Barcelonaâs team sheet is a whoâs who of world stars â and World Cup winners. There are memories, too, of the 2021 Womenâs Champions League final when Barcelona won 4-0, and were 3-0 up in 20 minutes. Beating Barca now would one of the great coups of Hayesâ glittering career. The Champions League is the one she and Chelsea are missing. If not now, then when?
Join me for a 12.30 kick-off.
