What Chelsea can learn from Champions League heartbreak ahead of Barcelona clash

Chelsea are gearing up for one of the most significant games in the club's history, with European champions Barcelona set to visit Stamford Bridge in the semi-finals of the UEFA Women's Champions League (UWCL) this weekend.

The Blues secured an historic 1-0 victory in the first leg at the Estadi Olímpic on Saturday thanks to a super strike from captain Erin Cuthbert. Barcelona were awarded a penalty in the second half for handball by Kadeisha Buchanan but the decision was overturned by VAR after Salma Paralluelo was found to be offside in the build-up.

It was Barcelona's first home defeat since February 2019 and the first time they have failed to score in a game since April 2022. But, while the magnitude of the result is impossible to refute, there is a sense that is only a job half-done for Chelsea, with the west Londoners braced for a big response when the teams meet in SW6 on Saturday afternoon.

“I’m not here to break records, no disrespect to Barcelona, but that’s not a trophy for me,” Hayes said after the game. “We’re here to compete for the Champions League and we’re at half-time against the best team in the world, who didn’t have their best game today.”

Should the Blues progress to the final, they will face either Lyon or Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in a bid to win the club's first ever UWCL title. It would also represent Hayes' last chance to win the competition as Chelsea manager before she departs to become head coach of the US Women's national team at the end of the season.

With the club on the cusp of making history, football.london takes a look back at some of Chelsea's near-misses in the UWCL.

After winning a first Women's Super League (WSL) title in 2015, there was a sense that it was only a matter of time before