...By Henry George for TDPel Media.
Chelsea manager Emma Hayes expressed her disappointment after her team lost to Barcelona and failed to secure a spot in the Women’s Champions League final.
Despite having an impressive performance in the second leg of the semi-final, Hayes believes her team was the better side and that they lost due to their failure to make the most of their home advantage in the first leg.
In the first leg, Barcelona won 1-0 at Chelsea’s home stadium.
In the second leg, which took place in Spain, Caroline Graham Hansen scored for Barcelona just after the hour mark, putting them in a comfortable position.
However, Chelsea winger Guro Reiten replied only four minutes later, giving Chelsea hope for a comeback.
Hayes stated that her team grew into the game, became more aggressive, and created good chances.
She thinks that if there were more time in the game, Chelsea would have won.
However, the match ended with a narrow 2-1 aggregate win for Barcelona.
Despite the loss, Hayes is proud of her team’s performance and believes that they pressured Barcelona into making mistakes.
Barcelona has not lost a home game in four years, and they have won all 25 matches in Liga F this season, scoring 105 goals and conceding just five.
Hayes reflected on her team’s failure to make the most of their home advantage at Stamford Bridge, saying that they were going out of the competition because of the first leg.
Barcelona is now into their third final in a row and will face either Arsenal or Wolfsburg, who are set to meet for their second leg at the Emirates Stadium on Monday with the tie poised at 2-2.
Barcelona midfielder Aitana Bonmati noted the importance of managing their performance in elite football and acknowledged that one slip could have allowed Chelsea to level the tie.
In summary, Emma Hayes expressed her disappointment after Chelsea’s loss to Barcelona in the Women’s Champions League semi-final.
She believes that her team was the better side, but their failure to make the most of their home advantage in the first leg cost them a place in the final.
Despite the loss, Hayes is proud of her team’s performance and thinks that they pressured Barcelona into making mistakes.
Barcelona has won all their Liga F matches this season, scoring 105 goals and conceding only five.
They will face either Arsenal or Wolfsburg in the final, who are set to meet for their second leg on Monday.
Barcelona midfielder Aitana Bonmati emphasized the importance of managing their performance in elite football, as one slip could have allowed Chelsea to level the tie.
