This weekend marks the first legs of the Women’s Champions League semi-finals and I’m particularly intrigued to see how my old club Chelsea handle their tie against Barcelona. This is the third meeting between the clubs in four seasons and it will be interesting to see what Chelsea’s coaching staff have learned from the previous matches – the 2021 final and 2023 semi-final, both of which ended in defeat.
To draw on my memories of playing those matches, we went into the 2021 finals with a lot of press and the attitude of ‘we’re going to do our thing’. But we all know how that turned out: within twenty minutes we conceded three times and by half-time it was 4-0, and that’s how the final ended.
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We therefore proceeded more cautiously last year. We switched to a back three and tried to minimize their chances on goal and I think we did a pretty good job of that, although we sacrificed our own attacking play to some extent in the process. In our 1-0 defeat at home in the first leg, we had an xG of just 0.35. Hopefully Chelsea can find the perfect mix this time and play their own game, while also restricting Barcelona.
Of course, it won’t be easy, as Barcelona – just like the Spanish national team – is booming at the moment. In my first column in February I talked about playing Sweden against Spain and the challenge of stopping their play in the half-spaces between the centre-back and the full-back, which they use so well through Aitana Bonmatí. This time I want to highlight another player, Barcelona right winger Caroline Graham Hansen, who is having an incredible season. She scored in both legs against Chelsea last season and has been even better this year with 17 goals and 16 assists in Liga F. With Barcelona functioning so well as a team, they can get the ball to her in wide space and get her the one-on-one situations in which she thrives. That’s why Chelsea need to keep a player close and also try to stop the supply of passes wide.
As for my old team, as with last season’s semi-final, it certainly looks like they will be without Millie Bright, who has only just returned to training after her knee injury. She will be missed, as will frontline leader Sam Kerr. But if you’re looking for positives, one potential upside is that it may not be easy for Barcelona to analyze Chelsea. They have used a lot of players this season with different combinations in the backline and midfield and this unpredictability could be an asset. An example of this is Lauren James, who could play as a centre-forward, as a number 10 or in the wide area. Lauren has been injury free this season and has played at a consistently high level. It is not easy for opponents to stop her as she can float around and perform in different areas.
Another possible positive for Chelsea is that Barcelona will have to make do without injured central defender Mapi León. She was very good against us last year, both in stopping attacks and building up the game. We had a plan to exploit their high line and get Sam behind her and Irene Paredes, the other centre-back. However, they read it right and went back to deny Sam space.
When you look at Barcelona’s unbeaten run in their domestic competitions, it contrasts with Chelsea’s recent domestic form with their defeats in the League Cup final and FA Cup semi-final. I would say that Chelsea, when playing in England, face bigger tests more often, while Barcelona, to their credit, never seem to let their standards drop and when a big test happens they show up. Therefore, when I have to make a prediction, my head tells me that Barcelona is the best club in the world at the moment and will therefore be ahead of that. Of course, my heart is in Chelsea’s hopes and although they have had those recent setbacks, a big hallmark of their success under Emma Hayes has been their ability to bounce back from disappointment and put in a performance when it matters most.
As for the other all-French semi-final between Lyon and Paris Saint-Germain, I would have made Lyon the clear favorite a few months ago, but no longer. I scored Bayern’s winner at PSG in the group stages in November, but I’ve been impressed with how they’ve gelled as a team since then. Watching their quarter-final against Häcken, I saw a steady, solid side who have found a way to really take advantage of winger Tabitha Chawinga’s speed.
For our two games against them with Bayern, we looked at their threat on the left, with both Chawinga and full-back Sakina Karchaoui converting many crosses. What I like about Chawinga is that she is an attacker who can make something out of nothing with her individual quality, speed and strength. We experienced this at Bayern in our 2-2 draw against PSG in Munich in December, when her speed intercepted a back pass that seemed to reach our goalkeeper as favourite.
She also scored as PSG drew 1-1 at Lyon in their most recent league match in February and with Marie-Antoinette Katoto at her side it is clear that PSG have a strong attacking threat. But at the same time I consider Lyon as a more complete team. It is true that they have not yet passed a serious test in the competition, but they have more than eleven world-class players. And I can speak from recent personal experience when my Swedish team lost 1-0 to a French side last week, which included some of Lyon’s best players. At centre-back, Wendie Renard was very solid against us and underlined her threat again by scoring the winning goal. Next to her, Griedge Mbock is now looking back at her post-injury best.
Up front I faced Kadidiatou Diani, the top scorer of the Champions League with seven goals. When I saw her up close, I could tell she was in good shape. When you play against a striker who is in form, things just seem to happen for him. I remember one incident in particular where, without producing a fantastic dribble, she was still able to get the ball away from some of our players. She is also a player who can create something out of nothing and could play a key role, especially with Eugénie Le Sommer missing after a knee injury in the same match against Sweden.
Like Chelsea and Barcelona, Lyon is undefeated in this Champions League season. They tend to beat PSG in their domestic competition and I expect them to do so again in these two legs. That said, I really think any of these four semi-finalists have the quality to go on and win the trophy. While the quarter-finals each had a clear favorite, this time anything could happen. I hope as many people as possible sign up, because we can expect a treat with two dramatic tapes full of twists and turns.
Discussion points
Timely boost for Blues: After their two domestic cup disappointments, Chelsea bounced back to winning ways on Wednesday night with a 3-0 win over Aston Villa to return them to the top of the Women’s Super League on goal difference, ahead of Manchester City. Aggie Beever-Jones, Maika Hamano and Kadeisha Buchanan scored as Emma Hayes’ side recorded a fourth successive win in the WSL against opponents who lost goalkeeper Anna Leat to an early red card. Beever-Jones has now scored eight WSL goals this season despite playing just three games.
Hegerberg extends stay in Lyon: Norwegian striker Ada Hegerberg renewed her commitment to Lyon this week by signing a contract extension with the French champions until 2027. The former Women’s Ballon d’Or winner has been playing for Lyon since 2014 and has won six Champions Leagues and eight French league titles in that time.
Redondo becomes real: Last season’s top scorer in the Spanish Liga F, Levante striker Alba Redondo, has agreed a summer transfer to Real Madrid, Spanish media report. Redondo is said to have chosen Madrid despite interest from Barcelona and will join Los Blancos on July 1 when her Levante contract expires.
Quote of the day
Just to shout at the players again, it was nice to be back on the grass and be back with the team” – Millie Bright on her return to training at Chelsea after five months out injured.
Recommended listening
Faye Carruthers is joined by Suzanne Wrack, Robyn Cowen and Chris Paouros to discuss the FA Cup semi-finals and preview the upcoming last four matches in the Champions League. Listen.
Recommended viewing
Tabitha Chawinga and Marie-Antoinette Katoto were on target, but the goal to really pay attention to is Sandy Baltimore’s volley, which earned PSG a 3-3 draw against Guingamp in their last match before the Champions League semi-final visit to Lyon this weekend.
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