London, United Kingdom (AFP) – With goals from the Catalan Aitana Bonmatí and the Swedish Fridolina Rolfö, Barcelona came back from the semi-final tie against Chelsea (2-0, 2-1 on aggregate) and reached its fourth consecutive final of the Women's Champions League, which They will play against Lyon or PSG on May 25 in Bilbao.
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Despite the defeat suffered in Barcelona (1-0), the current champion of the competition was able to turn the situation around with goals from Aitana Bonmatí, the current Ballon d'Or winner (in the 25th minute of the first half), and from the Swedish forward Fridolina Rolfö, from a penalty (75), when the Londoners were already playing at an inferiority due to the expulsion of defender Kadeisha Buchanan at the hour mark.
“We have achieved it again, and it was not easy due to the adverse result in the first leg, but this team knows how to overcome difficult moments. I am very proud of this team,” declared Bonmatí.
“We deserved the victory. In the first leg we were not better than our rivals, but today we created many more chances,” added coach Jonatan Giráldez.
Without opposition in the national championship (where it is about to win its fifth consecutive league and ninth since 2012), Barça continues to make merits to establish a dynasty at the continental level.
Barça will play its fifth final of Europe's most important club tournament at the San Mamés Stadium in Bilbao, its fourth in a row. He won the title in 2021 and 2023 and lost in 2019 and 2022.
Final against Lyon or PSG
At Stamford Bridge, aware of the negative result of the first leg, Barça began dominating and barely took 25 minutes to equalize the tie, when Aitana Bonmatí finished into the net after a pass from Patri Guijarro.
Chelsea reacted and could have scored before the break, but a shot from Melanie Leupolz hit the crossbar (32) and Cata Coll saved a half-volley from Catarina Macario a few minutes later (35).
The equality in the game and in the tie was broken with the expulsion of Buchanan after seeing the second yellow card for a challenge on Guijarro.
In superiority, Barça took over the match and surrounded the goal defended by Hannah Hampton until achieving the comeback, with a penalty called for a fall by Bonmatí, which Rolfö converted into the final 2-0.
For Chelsea, Barça continues to be their biggest obstacle in their journey in the competition, which had already eliminated the English team in the previous edition and whom they beat 4-0 in the 2021 final, the only one played so far by the club. Londoner.
For her coach Emma Hayes it was the last opportunity to give the London club the long-awaited Champions League, since at the end of the season she will leave the position she has held since 2012 to become the United States coach.
Until the moment of the expulsion “we were fine, we had just hit the post,” Hayes lamented. “It's a cruel way to lose,” he added.
(AFP)
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