Cliff Notes – Chelsea power past Man City, UWCL nemesis Barcelona await
- Chelsea overturned a 2-0 deficit from the first leg, winning 3-0 at Stamford Bridge to progress to the Champions League semifinals with a 3-2 aggregate score.
- Mayra Ramírez was instrumental in Chelsea’s victory, scoring one goal and assisting another, showcasing her aggressive pressing and movement against Manchester City’s defence.
- Chelsea’s mental resilience was highlighted by captain Millie Bright, emphasising the importance of belief and performance under pressure as they prepare to face Barcelona in the semifinals.
Chelsea power past Man City, UWCL nemesis Barcelona await
LONDON — Near the half-hour mark of Thursday’s Women’s Champions League quarterfinal second leg, Manchester City goalkeeper Khiara Keating went down injured. As she received treatment by the goal, both her teammates and Chelsea’s players gathered around their respective dugouts. They were grateful for this brief interlude in an intense match, which Chelsea won 3-0 to progress 3-2 on aggregate.
City players were deep in discussion with their backroom staff, brows furrowed and hands waving. Meanwhile Chelsea, who were warmly applauded by the home crowd as they approached the side of the pitch, focused on hydrating themselves. Hardly any player was without a bottle in hand. It was understandable. They hadn’t stopped running since the first minute.
Chelsea began the game with the same intensity they ended their Women’s Super League clash against City on Sunday. There, at the Etihad Stadium, they clawed their way back from a goal down to keep their spotless league record intact. Here, at Stamford Bridge, they were fighting for Champions League survival after losing the first leg 2-0, their first defeat of the season.
Johanna Rytting Kaneryd roved on the wing, Erin Cuthbert revved in the middle and Lauren James effortlessly rode challenges in the way only she can. The manner in which Chelsea hunted down the ball overwhelmed the visitors and exhilarated the crowd.
Such was the verve in their attack that Sandy Baltimore’s 13th-minute opener almost felt belated. Her stunning first-time finish from a Lucy Bronze shot that had rebounded off the post was a reminder of the fact she is a forward moonlighting as a full-back.
However, Baltimore’s counterpart, Leila Ouahabi, struggled on the night. During that break in play, City boss Nick Cushing was seen feverishly giving instructions on the touchline. You don’t have to be a lip-reader to tell the interaction centred on stopping Mayra Ramírez.
The Colombia international embodied Chelsea’s full-throttled approach on the night. She was aggressive in her pressing, adroit in her movement, and didn’t stop running at Ouahabi. Ramírez, who has scored just eight goals in all competitions this season, is far from a prolific forward, but she is a player for big occasions.
She scored a key brace against Manchester United on the final day of last season to help Chelsea clinch the title on goal difference. She was the best player on the pitch in the statement win over Arsenal at the Emirates early in this campaign and got on the scoresheet in the 2-1 League Cup final win over City.
Ouahabi gestured a thumbs-up in Cushing’s direction as she made her way back on the pitch, but the City boss’ instructions proved of no help. Another rampaging Ramírez run down the right won Chelsea a corner from which Nathalie Björn scored to bring the tie level. Five minutes later, she was on the scoresheet herself, bundling home a Lauren James cutback to put Chelsea ahead in the tie.
Chelsea blew Manchester City away to overturn their first-leg deficit
“We want more,” chanted the Chelsea fans and they almost had their wish granted when at the stroke of half-time when Ramírez bulldozed her way through the City backline but was denied by Keating from a few yards out. It was an irresistible performance from the 26-year-old, but trudging off the pitch at the break, she repeatedly shook her head in disgust at her miss.
The moment captured the standards to which this Chelsea side hold themselves. They went into this run of four games against City in 12 days unbeaten in all competitions. Despite blemishing that record in the first leg of the quarterfinal, they appear to have emerged from it even stronger. Before the second leg, captain Millie Bright spoke of how this spate of games had helped her side learn more about themselves and shored up their mentality. Bompastor alluded to this quality being a point of difference at the Bridge on Thursday.
“The mental aspects in terms of performance are sometimes more than 70-80% of the performance and the results. So, I think tonight it was part of the game obviously,” she said post match. “It was also to have this belief, to have these mental strains going into the game and just to think it was possible to achieve that. Even if, again, the challenge was tough because as you could see, we face Man City four times … when you have to play the same team four times in 12 days, that’s a really big, big, big, big challenge.”
Winning the Champions League would see Bompastor achieve something Emma Hayes wasn’t able to in her trophy-laden 12 years at the club. The French manager spoke post match of building on Hayes’ legacy, and if she is to take the club to European glory, she’d do well to remember the United States women’s national team coaches defining motto.
“What got us here won’t get us there.” Because up next for Chelsea in the semifinal lies their perennial nemesis Barcelona, who have knocked them out at this same stage in each of the last three seasons.
Chelsea were unbelievably good at Stamford Bridge on Thursday, but they had to overturn a two-goal deficit to reach the semifinals. On this form, what got them there won’t get them past Barça next month.