Chelsea have a mountain to climb if they want to advance to this season’s Women’s Champions League final, tasked with having to beat Barcelona at Camp Nou in the semi-final second leg.
Jonatan Giraldez’s side have managed to excel as usual this season, with Liga F all but wrapped up after 25 wins from 25 games so far and and the Supercopa de Espana already won.
But Barcelona will be eyeing the UWCL, with memories of last year’s loss in the final still painful.
Standing in their way is at least 90 minutes against Chelsea, and although the Catalans lead the tie 1-0 on aggregate following the weekend’s first leg at Stamford Bridge, the Blues aren’t out yet, and may still have the abilities to hurt this Barcelona side.
Just four minutes into the match, Caroline Graham Hansen’s shot from the right handed Barcelona an early lead over Chelsea, providing the away side some breathing room early on.
The midfield trio of Aitana, Patri Guijarro, and Keira Walsh formed the backbone of Barcelona’s 4-3-3 formation, which focused on defensive security and attacking intent.
All season, Walsh has played a crucial role in initiating the team’s build-up from the back, using short passes to maintain control and create progression opportunities. Despite Chelsea’s tactical setup, Barcelona’s precise territorial coverage and patient approach allowed them to play with composure and secure an early advantage.
It wasn’t easy sailing for Barcelona over the course of the 90 minutes in west London though. Walsh faced difficulties as Jelena Cankovic was assigned to shadow her and prevent any vertical progress, which has been crucial to Barcelona’s build-up play all season.
Cankovic’s press was particularly effective in helping Chelsea regain possession high up the pitch. If Barcelona have any vulnerabilities, it comes when teams are able to press in their defensive third.
But Barcelona adjusted quickly. Patri took a step back to form a double-pivot alongside Walsh, providing an additional player to ease the pressure. As a result, the visitors were able to have a better grasp of possession, and they adapted by using faster passes to build-up.
In attack, Geyse, Salma Paralluelo, and Graham Hansen used their pace to run behind the Chelsea defense and draw players out of position into pockets of space, with the front three rotating between the half-spaces and central areas to try and come off as unpredictable as possible.
The front three also aimed to minimise width while still positioning their strongest players in optimal goal-scoring positions. They did this by quickly shifting to underutilised spaces left by Chelsea when the home side focused their defensive shape to one side.
All in all, Barcelona weren’t at their best, and they were forced to make slight changes due to Chelsea’s tactics. But they still won, leaving Chelsea with a monster task at Camp Nou.
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It is known that Barcelona are formidable, but they are particularily strong at home. With a huge crowd expected, it will be an incredibly difficult task for Chelsea to get a result.
Still, they are in the tie, and they have the oppourtunities to learn from the first leg, as well as a teams that has been succesful against Barcelona this season…Bayern Munich.
Bayern beat Barcelona 3-1 in Munich during the competition’s group stage. It didn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things given that both teams advanced to the knockout rounds, but it was the first time Barcelona had looked shaken since last season’s final.
What Bayern did so well was what Chelsea attempted to do in the first leg: stifle Barcelona’s progression out from the back by pressing them high and aggresively.
The pressing formation saw Bayern position two attackers near the centre-backs, and one midfielder pressing high, triggering the press, before the other midfielders followed suit and moved up to close the gap.
Despite the technical skill of Barcelona’s midfielders, they are still susceptible to being overrun by opponents, which leaves them with two options: either try and bypass the press through the middle of the pitch; or shift towards the full-backs and have them adjust their position to reduce their presence in the middle and final thirds.
Bayern’s way of play meant that Barcelona had little time or space on the ball to progress forward, forcing them to go back or sideways instead.
If and when Barcelona manage to evade this press, this is where the absence of Alexia Putellas is really felt, with the team noticeably less effective and composed in the defensive third of the pitch due to the loss of the dribbling ball progressor. At her best, Putellas, who is nearing a return but remains a doubt for this week, is the difference between Barcelona managing to evade even the best of a midfield press and go forward, versus losing the ball in the centre of the pitch.
Barcelona benefited greatly from Putellas’ talent in dropping back to the midfield area to receive the ball and then surge forward with purpose. This allowed them to navigate high-pressure situations more effectively.
Bayern gave Chelsea the blueprint, but the Blues will certainly have it tougher. It’s a must win game for Chelsea, and it’s in Barcelona. Emma Hayes’s side will have to be at their absolute best with high energy and smart play to limit this Barca team. And they’ll likely need quite a bit of luck too.
