The Blues are dominant in England but are on the brink of a third-straight semi-final loss to the Catalans in Europe – so how do they bridge the gap?
Chelsea fans could be forgiven for thinking this would be their year in the Women's Champions League. After Emma Hayes led the Blues further than they'd ever been in this competition, reaching the 2021 final, Sonia Bompastor was appointed as her successor in the summer, having lifted the trophy as both a player and a manager.
With the experience of five-time winner Lucy Bronze following her to the club, and a January spending spree that included the arrivals of Keira Walsh and Naomi Girma, Chelsea were certainly pushing to go to that next level. Yet, if that elusive title is to make its way to Stamford Bridge, it will surely not be this year.
On Sunday, Bompastor's side lost the first leg of their Champions League semi-final against Barcelona by a devastating 4-1 scoreline. It's the third time these two have clashed at this stage in three years – and for the third season in a row, the Catalans look set to emerge victorious.
Back in England, things are as rosy as they can be for Chelsea. In pole position to win a sixth-successive Women's Super League title, they've already lifted the League Cup and are into next month's FA Cup final. Domestic dominance, then, is continuing as usual – but how do the Blues translate that into European success?
GettyBarca & Lyon dominance
England's WSL is widely regarded as the best and most competitive women's league in Europe. Indeed, Aitana Bonmati, Barcelona's two-time Ballon d'Or winner, praised it highly last summer for the investment across the board. "I would say that England is an example off the field. Barca as a club is the same, but I would say England as a country," she said in an interview with . "England are investing a lot in women's football since the Euros – I cannot say the same about here in Spain."
But while that might seem like a good league for Chelsea to be dominating, as it should prepare them for the difficult challenges of facing teams such as Barca and eight-time European champions Lyon, it's not quite panning out that way. Instead, despite not playing in the best domestic divisions, it is the Spanish and French champions who continue to have a stranglehold on the Champions League. Barca have reached five of the last six finals, winning three of them, while OL have made seven of the last nine, winning six.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesMore experience needed
Why is that? Bompastor is well-placed to answer, having played for Lyon for six years then coached them for three. In that time, she led OL to victory over Barca in the Champions League final too, back in 2022.
"When you talk about Lyon, they have won the Champions League eight times and Barcelona already three times. I think this experience is difficult to make the gap shorter between the teams," she said this week. "I think it's about keeping our ambitions, keeping our mentality to want to reach high expectations, ambitions and goals. I think one day we'll get there, hopefully this season. But if not this season, we will work hard to make sure we just close the gap between these two teams and the English teams."
Getty ImagesWork to do
Bompastor has a point, as there was certainly an experience gap on Sunday. Looking at those who featured for Chelsea in the 4-1 loss, Millie Bright, Erin Cuthbert and Guro Reiten all played in the final against the Catalans in 2021, while Bronze, Walsh and Catarina Macario are all previous winners of the competition. But that was it. Sophie Ingle and Sam Kerr, both starters in the 2021 final, haven't played all season due to injury, with Kadeisha Buchanan, another previous UWCL winner, has been sidelined since November.
Plenty of others in this Chelsea squad has some decent level of experience, of course. Every player is a senior international and most have represented their countries at major tournaments, as well as playing in finals and games of a similar stature at club level. But when it comes to experience of the Champions League and of getting over the line, the Blues pale in comparison to the likes of Barca and Lyon.
That's not something the club hasn't tried to address. After all, ex-Barca duo Bronze and Walsh were signings made just this season. But a club can't just sign a whole squad of Champions League experts; some of that has to be developed, which is an ongoing process, and perhaps the most difficult step to complete.
Getty ImagesLacking match-winners
However, if there is one other area where it feels Chelsea really come up short right now when compared to Barca or Lyon, it is in their lack of top-level match-winners. Looking back at that 2021 final, the Blues had those players all over the park. With a front three of Kerr, Fran Kirby and Pernille Harder, a midfield that included Ji So-yun and a bench that featured Reiten and Bethany England, these were the kind of names who could pop up with a match-winning moment. The problem on that occasion was that the team didn't have a lot of European experience – and that Barca were just far too good, of course.
While the experience has come along a little more in the time since, albeit still not to the necessary level, Chelsea just don't have the match-winners this year when it comes to a stage like the Champions League semis. That's why, though they kept the first leg tight for the most part on Sunday, it never felt like they had the weapons to really hurt Barca.
After all, Kerr and Lauren James are injured, Reiten is just coming back from time on the sidelines and Macario has struggled for starts. Of those available, Mayra Ramirez is still a little unpolished and, thus, inconsistent, while Aggie Beever-Jones is only 21 years old and developing.