The Women’s Champions League final is just 90 minutes away and Chelsea have a tough task on their hands to sweep aside the seemingly immovable Barcelona. Cameron Pope previews the game.
- Follow @CamPopeSport on Twitter
Stamford Bridge might have feared the worst when Caroline Graham Hansen’s stunning strike gave BARCELONA a semi-final first-leg lead within five minutes on Saturday, but the fact that the WSL side are still in the contest at the halfway stage is an enormous positive to take to Camp Nou.
That said, Chelsea must score on Thursday to keep their Champions League dream alive. And that’s a problem.
Barcelona’s record at home is, to put it simply, staggering.
Barcelona v Chelsea (agg: 1-0)
Kick-off time: 17:45 BST, Thursday
TV Channel: DAZN
Barca 1/7 | Draw 5/1 | Win 12/1
No side has beaten the Blaugrana on their own patch – be it at Camp Nou or at Estadi Johan Cruyff, the team’s residence for most of their domestic games – in a competitive fixture since Sporting de Huelva claimed a 3-2 win back in February 2019.
In 79 games in all competitions since – including 17 in the Champions League – no side has claimed the scalp of the Catalan giants, with an extra-time win over Deportivo de la Coruna more than three years ago in the Copa de la Reina the only asterisk on Barca’s run.
There can be no understating the magnitude of the task facing Chelsea, then. Their hosts are well on their way to a second perfect Liga F season having won all of their 25 games so far – and they have conceded just five goals.
And while it could be argued that the Champions League is an altogether different test, the trend is pretty similar: the one goal Barca conceded in their quarter-final second leg against Roma (a 5-1 win) was their first at home this competition – and they’ve scored 23 across four home matches.
You could write pages and pages on Barcelona’s dominance, but we must also take into account how the English side have fared lately. And the prognosis, while not awful, doesn’t leave much room for optimism against last season’s runners-up.
Chelsea have won four of their last six away games, with the 1-0 win in the quarter-final first leg in Lyon the standout result, but they were found out by both Manchester City and Arsenal in that time.
Penalties were needed to edge out the French side at the last stage and while eliminating the event holders is no mean feat, the French side were far less dangerous this season – they were humbled 5-1 at home by Arsenal in the group stage.
Still, Chelsea are yet to lose away in Europe this term, having drawn at Real Madrid and beaten PSG in the groups.
If they can service Sam Kerr, the Lionesses’ conqueror earlier in April, they might just stand a chance.
But prolific Nigerian striker ASISAT OSHOALA on 25 goals for the season, will be difficult to keep quiet.
And that’s not all – Thursday could be the night we see twice-running Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas return from a nine-month injury absence.
If she features – and offers even a glimpse of her best – it could be a rough night for Chelsea.
Score prediction: Barcelona 3-0 Chelsea (Sky Bet odds: 5/1)
