Chelsea suffer Champions League heartbreak after controversial semi-final defeat to Barcelona

Ten-player Chelsea crashed out of the UEFA Women's Champions League (UWCL) with a 2-0 semi-final second-leg defeat to holders Barcelona at a sold-out Stamford Bridge.

Aitana Bonmati's deflected strike and a well-taken penalty from Fridolina Rolfo saw Jonatan Giraldez's side advance to the last two of the competition for the fifth time in six seasons, with Kadeisha Buchanan's controversial second-half dismissal only exacerbating the visitors' dominance in west London.

Chelsea had gone into the clash with a slender advantage thanks to their1-0 first-leg victory at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís. Erin Cuthbert's stunner had been enough to earn Emma Hayes' side their first ever win over Barcelona but the Blues boss knew there would still be plenty of work to do in the second leg, insisting ahead of the game that her team would have to be «perfect» if they wanted to reach a second UWCL final in four years.

Chelsea's task was made even more difficult by the fact club-record signing Mayra Ramirez, who was excellent in Catalonia, was unavailable at Stamford Bridge due to injury, with Catarina Macario replacing her in the starting lineup. Unsurprisingly, the visitors made a strong start in West London and had their first sight of goal when England international Lucy Bronze picked out captain Patri Guijarro inside the area but the Spaniard's first touch let her down.

Chelsea responded well and could have taken the lead when the ball fell to Cuthbert on the edge of the box, however the Scot could only blaze her first-time effort over the crossbar. That opened the door for Barcelona to make the breakthrough after 25 minutes, with Ballon d'Or winner Bonmati's tame effort from distance taking a wicked deflection off Buchanan and trickling into