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Chelsea have knocked Manchester City out of the Champions League and progressed to the semi-finals after a devastating 3-0 win in the quarter-final second leg.The hosts went into the tie trailing 2-0 but three first-half goals in the fourth straight meeting between the teams across three competitions quashed any lingering nerves at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea won 3-2 on aggregate.
Chelsea started off the more aggressive of the two sides in search of an early goal they desperately needed.
In the 14th minute Lucy Bronze’s right-footed shot with the outside of her boot hit the post but France international Sandy Baltimore was in the right place at the right time and curled the ball beautifully into the back of the net.
Chelsea continued to pepper the City box and although City had chances, they were reduced to long-range shots which did not overly concern Chelsea No 1 Hannah Hampton.
Just after the half-hour mark Chelsea nearly doubled their lead had it not been for Vivianne Miedema’s goal-line clearance from Nathalie Bjorn’s header.
England international Lauren James was a constant thorn in City’s side, as was Mayra Ramirez. Chelsea’s second goal came from Ramirez’s work as she got the better of City defenders Leila Ouahabi and Laia Aleixandri on the right wing and won a corner. This time Bjorn’s header from Baltimore’s corner beat Khiara Keating.
City interim head coach Nick Cushing gestured to his players to keep calm but just before half-time James nicked a loose pass from Ouahabi who cut the ball back to Ramirez for Chelsea’s third.
“A free-flowing attacking team with a resolute defence”
When Bompastor took over from Emma Hayes in September, she made no hiding of her desire to conquer Europe with Chelsea.
“I will give all my energy to support the players to reach that goal,” she said in her first club interview.
Chelsea gave themselves an uphill battle to climb after defeat in the first leg but they were simply unplayable against a City side, severely hampered by injury. They took the game to City and put them under severe pressure, hitting the woordwork three times. Had it not been for some fine saves from Keating, Chelsea could have won by a larger goal margin and given themselves some breathing space.
City lacked reinforcements off the bench and could only name five substitutes, including a goalkeeper, which paled in comparison to Chelsea’s squad depth. Laura Coombs came on in the second half for Lily Murphy which meant Miedema pushed into the No 9 role and Mary Fowler played on the wing. City just needed one goal to take the tie to extra time but Cushing’s side failed to respond with clear-cut chances. Miedema came closest in the 72nd minute with a rifled shot from the edge of the box but Chelsea kept them at bay.
When appointed as interim earlier in the month following Gareth Taylor’s sacking, Cushing’s priority was to get City back into the top three of the Women’s Super League in order to secure qualification for next season’s Champions League. But Sunday’s 2-1 defeat in the WSL has left City seven points adrift of third place with five games of the campaign remaining.
It seemed that their best chance of qualifying for the Champions League was to win the Champions League but Chelsea crushed that dream.
Reigning champions Barcelona lie in wait for Chelsea in the semi-final, a repeat of last year’s semi-final, after they beat Wolfsburg 10-2 on aggregate. Judging by the second half of Chelsea’s league performance against City on Sunday and this 3-0 win, Chelsea are showing they can be a free-flowing attacking team with a resolute defence. They are now one step closer to the trophy that has up until now eluded them.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
Manchester City, UK Women's Football
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