LONDON (Reuters) -Barcelona edged Chelsea 1-0 in the first leg of their Women’s Champions League semi-final at Stamford Bridge on Saturday after Caroline Graham Hansen’s early strike gave the Spanish side a narrow advantage ahead of the return leg at the Camp Nou.
In a repeat of the 2021 final when Barca beat Chelsea 4-0 for their first title, the Spaniards took an early lead just as they did in Gothenburg as Hansen scored in the fourth minute.
The Norwegian winger cut in from the right flank and dribbled past defenders who were tracking back before she curled a strike from outside the box that sailed past the despairing dive of Ann-Katrin Berger in Chelsea’s goal.
“We started with intensity and we got a good early goal. I think overall we controlled the match, more or less from the start to finish,” Barca coach Jonatan Giraldez said.
“I liked the first minutes where we began so well, it allowed us to stay calm throughout. We played a really good match defensively. All the work we’d put in paid off, we played like a unified block.”
But Chelsea settled down after conceding and although Barca dominated possession, the home side played on the counter-attack as their two forwards Sam Kerr and Guro Reiten looked to take advantage of Barcelona’s high defensive line.
Reiten was denied a goal twice in the opening half-hour, first because Kerr was flagged offside in the build-up after the ball was in the net and then later by Barca defender Lucy Bronze who blocked her shot after she rounded the keeper.
There were worrying signs for the visitors in the second half, however, when Bronze limped off holding her knee, with the England international heading straight down the tunnel as Giraldez made a substitution.
“Initially Lucy was a bit worried about her injury, she felt pain in her knee. But now she’s feeling much better about it,” Giraldez added.
Marta Torrejon nearly doubled the lead for Barca late in the game but the Spaniard saw her header from a corner come off the post.
Despite their efforts, Chelsea found no way past Barca’s disciplined defence as they kept another clean sheet this term.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)
