Chelsea lost the Champions League final in 2021 in Gothenburg against Barcelona (0–4) and the Catalan giant has knocked out the London club in the semifinal the last two years.
Now it looks like history will repeat itself in the spring of 2025 for Chelsea, which had the Swedish national team duo Nathalie Björn and Johanna Rytting-Kaneryd in the starting eleven.
Björn injured?
Pole Ewa Pajor scored 1–0 for the home team – where Swedish player Fridolina Rolfö started on the bench – in the 35th minute. Just as far into the second half, Cláudia Pina also extended to 2–0 and the reigning champions seemed to have an open road to a third consecutive final.
However, Frenchwoman Sandy Baltimore soon silenced the home crowd at Estadi Johan Cruyff with her 1–2 reduction, but then came double setbacks for Chelsea.
In the 81st minute, Björn was forced to substitute with a suspected injury – a minute later, Irene Paredes headed in 3–1 on a corner. Rolfö had just been substituted in for the home team.
In the 90th minute, the uphill climb became even steeper for Chelsea when substitute Pina scored her second goal of the evening, making the final score 4–1.
Caused penalty
Barcelona could have led 2–0 at halftime. On a VAR review, referee Katalin Kulcsár from Hungary could see that the ball touched Nathalie Björn's hand. However, Barça's captain Alexia Putellas took a weak penalty and Chelsea goalkeeper Hannah Hampton could save in the 12th minute.
Now it seems likely that there will be a replay of last year's final where Barcelona took the club's third CL title against "most champions" Lyon (2–0), which has won the tournament eight times.
On Saturday, Lyon won their semifinal 2–1 away against Arsenal. The returns are played next Sunday.
2024: Barcelona–Lyon 2–0
2023: Barcelona–Wolfsburg 3–2
2022: Lyon–Barcelona 3–1
2021: Barcelona–Chelsea 4–0
2020: Lyon–Wolfsburg 3–1
