Barcelona 1-1 Chelsea (agg: 2-1): Camp Nou celebrates final berth

Barcelona are into their third straight UEFA Women's Champions League final, and fourth in five years, after a 1-1 draw against Chelsea in front of over 72,000 fans at Camp Nou proved enough. Having hit the only goal in the first leg, Caroline Graham Hansen struck again for Barcelona.

Match in brief: Barcelona book final slot

Barcelona began with the clear intent of extending their advantage. Restored to the starting line-up, Asisat Oshoala came close early on, shooting over following good work by Graham Hansen. Mariona Caldentey came in for Salma Paralluelo, and also sent an effort above the bar.

Emma Hayes stuck with the 3-5-2 shape she deployed in the first half at Stamford Bridge, the defence missing injured pair Millie Bright and Kadeisha Buchanan, and the back line continued to be kept busy. Jessie Fleming, starting ahead of Jelena Čanković in Chelsea's only change from Saturday, was supporting forwards Sam Kerr and Guro Reiten but they were seeing little of the ball.

Jess Carter cannot keep out Caroline Graham Hansen's shotUEFA via Getty Images

Early in the second half, Fridolina Rolfö threatened from distance, and just past the hour Graham Hansen was on target, her shot eluding the lunge of Jess Carter after Aitana Bonmatí broke from inside her own half, ran to the edge of the Chelsea box and laid off for the Norwegian winger.

Four minutes later, though, Chelsea were level. Kerr ran on to a chipped Melaine Leupolz pass, and although Sandra Paños advanced to smother, Reiten pounced on the rebound.

Now Chelsea had hope and Hayes sent on Lauren James and Pernille Harder, but Barcelona kept their calm and even nearly won it on the night when substitute Paralluelo forced a save from Ann-Katrin Berger. There was no comeback for Alexia Putellas, on the bench, but she and Barcelona now have a 3 June date in Eindhoven to aim at.

Visa Player of the Match: Aitana Bonmatí (Barcelona)

Aitana Bonmatí with her awardUEFA via Getty Images

"Her influence when Barcelona were in possession, and positioning off the ball, were a delight to watch. She protected the ball to free up others in the game. She works selflessly to regain the ball and makes things happen proactively, as seen through her assist."
UEFA Technical Observer panel

Graham Hunter, Barcelona reporter

Suddenly, when they least needed this, goals, precision and cold-blooded mentality became scarce for Barça. They never looked second-best and they occasionally soared on the adoring roars of this huge, sun-drenched Camp Nou crowd. However, the clinical, elite final touch, cross or shot just escaped them by millimetres. Repeatedly. It’s impossible to sum up the Blaugrana effort without respect for Chelsea – superb, robust competitiveness and penalty-box block after penalty-box block. World-class defensive positioning. Nevertheless, the Graham Hansen effect, and loads of honest effort, got Barcelona across the line. Eindhoven get ready: here come Barça.

Lynsey Hooper, Chelsea reporter

If Chelsea were to progress, it was going to have to be the hard way. Having seen off Lyon in the quarter-finals, head coach Emma Hayes spoke about her side having to "suffer" against Barcelona. They tried to soak up pressure and wait patiently to pounce, and their tactics nearly came off. Barcelona's quality ultimately told, with Graham Hansen the main punisher in attack. Reiten's reply proved a consolation in a tie the hosts largely controlled. It's going to take an almighty effort to wrestle the trophy away from the Blaugrana.

Reaction

Aitana Bonmatí, VISA Player of the Match and Barcelona midfielder: "We've worked day and night for years to achieve this. To reach the final in front of our own fans was fantastic, but now we have to go and win it.

"In the second half I knew that it was a tense situation but also a dangerous one because one slip from us could have let Chelsea level the tie. Then, when Chelsea scored so soon after we went ahead it was time to 'manage' our performance and that’s key in elite football – you can enjoy yourself but you’ll always have to suffer."

Jonatan Giráldez, Barcelona coach: "We had to manage things well when they scored. When we went 1-0 up I had a good feeling about the match, it felt like we had control but only four minutes later Chelsea had their chance and scored. That’s a bad moment but we found the courage and the management.

"Aitana [Bonmatí] has a lot of energy and on the ball she can beat opponents. But when we are defending she makes the effort, she’ll press, drop back and help. I’m really happy because she’s in really good shape right now. And she has to keep it that way until the end!"

Keira Walsh, Barcelona midfielder: "When the whistle went we all came off the bench screaming! I made eye contact with Bruna [Vilamala] and [Claudia] Pina and we just grabbed hold of each other and ran onto the pitch. It was a nervous last ten or 15 minutes for us on the bench!

"Chelsea brought the ball down and played more football but we had a game plan and stuck to it. But it’s not job done – we’ve got a final to play."

Fridolina Rolfö, Barcelona defender: "I’m just so happy and tired. We really deserved this today and the whole experience, especially how amazing the stadium was – the fans really helped us through this game. We got so much energy from them."

Emma Hayes, Chelsea manager: "I cannot ask any more from my players. We are proud to be Chelsea. I think we lost the tie because of the home leg. We were brave, we executed the game plan, everyone delivered a performance and I’ve never seen a Barça team so panicked. Especially second half, I though we were the better team.

"We've had the hardest draw in this tournament. We’ve shown a lot of wisdom and experience tonight. It just wasn’t enough."

Niamh Charles, Chelsea defender: "I think that first of all we feel gutted. But we can feel proud that we implemented what we practiced in training. Every single player tonight gave everything and we couldn’t have asked more.

"We did not come here simply to soak up Barça pressure and then play on the break – we tried to balance knowing where and when to push and press but also when to sit in and hold then at the right time because we respect them. Across this and the first leg it’s about fine details. We’ll come again next year."

Key stats

• Graham Hansen has scored in all three of Barcelona's games against Chelsea: both legs of this tie and the 4-0 final win two years ago in Gothenburg.
• Barcelona are into their third final in a row and fourth in five years (they lost to Lyon in 2019 and 2022 either side of that 2021 defeat of Chelsea).
• This was the first time Barcelona have failed to win in their six European games at Camp Nou, having previously recorded scorelines of 5-2, 5-1, 3-0, 6-0 and 5-1.
• The 72,262 crowd is the third highest in competition history, behind only two other Barcelona attendances at Camp Nou.

Line-ups

Barcelona: Paños; Torrejón (Crnogorčević 73), Paredes, León, Rolfö; Bonmatí (Geyse 83), Walsh (Engen 60), Guijarro; Graham Hansen, Oshoala (Paralluelo 60), Caldentey

Chelsea: Berger; Mjelde, Eriksson, Carter; Périsset (Rytting Kaneryd 81), Fleming (Harder 75), Cuthbert, Leupolz, Charles; Kerr, Reiten (James 76)