Women C1: new final for Barcelona, winner of Chelsea

Spanish FC Barcelona, beaten 1-0 in the first half, eliminated English Chelsea 2-0 in the semi-final second leg of the Champions League, Saturday in London, and defends the title against Lyon or Paris SG in the final.

The European champions won the second round at Stamford Bridge with goals scored by Aitana Bonmati (25th) and Fridolina Rolfö (75th), from penalties, against the Londoners reduced to ten in the second half.

The winners of the 2021 and 2023 editions will compete in the C1 final for the fifth time in six years, on 25 May at the San Mamés stadium in Bilbao.

They face Olympique Lyonnais or Paris Saint-Germain, opponents on Sunday in the French capital (3-2 for the Olympics in the first half).

For the English side of Chelsea, Barça looks like a black beast: the Spaniards eliminated them in the semi-finals of the previous edition and punished them 4-0 in 2021 in the final, the only one to date contested by the Chelsea club. West London.

Their coach Emma Hayes, future USA coach, will leave the club she has led since 2012 at the end of the season, having failed to bring them back to this final stage.

The girls of FC Barcelona were surprisingly beaten 1-0 in the first leg at home, and reset the counters to zero quite quickly in the game thanks to the talent of their golden ball, Aitana Bonmati.

The midfielder obliterated the opposition with a hook before arming a cross shot that Kadeisha Buchanan, the Canadian defender of Chelsea, parried (25th, 0-1).

She was also awarded a penalty, pushed into the area by Jess Carter, a penalty converted by Fridolina Rolfö (75th, 0-2).

Chelsea also had their strong moments in the second half, especially when Sjoeke Nusken jumped to take a cross from Ashley Lawrence, but her effort was denied by a cross (57th).

The task became even more complicated after the sending off of Buchanan (59th), punished with a second yellow card five minutes after the first.