That discussion failed to resolve their defensive woes as Martens skipped past Niamh Charles on the left wing and centred for Norwegian winger Caroline Graham Hansen to steer home a fourth in the 36th minute. Chelsea's switch to a more direct style produced an improvement in the second half, but it wasn't enough to stop the Catalan club from coasting to victory, with the Barca bench exploding in celebration as the final whistle sounded to confirm their status as Europe's best club side.
We didn't feel as much pressure as we did in other games. The final is to be won, and that's what we did," Barca coach Lluis Cortes told reporters.
To be the first [Spanish club] to reach the final and win it is fantastic for us. Chelsea coach Emma Hayes said her players were disappointed that the game was seemingly over before it began.
Up to that point in the tie, the Blues had set themselves up with a five-man midfield. Andres Iniesta scored with precious little hindrance to put Barcelona up in the match and up on aggregate in the tie. As the players walked back to the center circle to resume play after the goal, the notion that Chelsea had any chance of tilting the tie back in their favor seemed insane. The Blues had improved under Di Matteo, but this was still an old, not particularly vintage Chelsea team that had entered the match looking up at Newcastle in the Premier League standings.
A team featuring Jose Bosingwa now defending out of position! Of course Barcelona were winning. No other outcome was fathomable. Order had been restored. Then the earth spun off its axis. In the second half against Chelsea, Barcelona were predictable.
Guardiola who was surely having flashbacks to the struggles his side had against ten-man Inter two years prior responded to Chelsea sitting deep by seeking to get as many players into the attacking third as possible.
Simply put: Chelsea made it so there was no space. Barcelona were so deliberate and calculated as the second leg went on, it actually made it easier for Chelsea to keep their shape. The unbeatable were beaten. Chelsea were going to Munich. On 27 April, , just days after the Champions League defeat to Chelsea, Guardiola announced he would step down as manager of Barcelona at the conclusion of the season.
The playing style at Barcelona has also changed in recent times, with the current iteration of the Blaugrana appearing to be a bit more reactionary than the teams of the Cruyff and Guardiola eras.
This February even against tiny Eibar, Barcelona just barely won the battle for possession and spent significant stretches of the match playing on the counterattack. There was an air of formality to the three consecutive Bundesliga titles he won with German powerhouses Bayern Munich, thought it would be harsh not to acknowledge that he did have the Bavarians playing some truly exciting football.
However, defeats in three-straight Champions League semifinals with a roster that overstuffed with talent likely stung. And while Guardiola has conquered England with his comically well-funded Manchester City team this season, in two campaigns with the Citizens he has failed to advance beyond the quarterfinal stage of the Champions League.
Guardiola has simply not had the same success in Europe post and he enjoyed pre Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard, Ashely Cole and Petr Cech, all among the finest players of their era, each gave performances befitting of their tremendous legacies. ON TV. On social media.
Who are we? Fight the Fake. Barcelona, who knocked out Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain on their way to the final, captured their first Champions League crown in their second trip to the title game they were defeated by Lyon in the final. They are the first Spanish team to win the Women's Champions League. Chelsea were making their first UWCL final appearance. No English side has won the trophy since Arsenal in Chelsea: Manager Emma Hayes and her squad walk away from their first ever Champions League final as the runner-up.
Impressive in their quest to reach the final, the Blues struggled to ever truly find their way into the game after going down on an own goal in the opening minute. They high-flying attacking trio of Fran Kirby, Sam Kerr, and Pernille Harder were largely kept out of the game in a combination of Barca's counter press eliminating them and Chelsea struggling to develop any meaningful possession on the ball to generate offense.
With Kirby often marked out of the game, Chelsea's fullbacks struggled against the attacking Barca side throughout the match, and though the Blues managed to try get after the game during the second half, the goals never came.
A roster stacked with talent, the club is likely disappointed, but they have an outstanding domestic season to hang their hats on, and minor adjustments in the roster could see Chelsea likely back in the final in the future.
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