FC Barcelona did not fail. They had a challenge that they have rarely had to face in recent years, but the reigning champion did not give up. He knew that he would have to row and empty himself, but they were not going to waste such a symbolic setting for Barcelona fans as Stamford Bridge. Aitana tied the tie in the first half, and Rolfö completed the job from the penalty spot in the same goal where Andrés Iniesta became eternal 15 years ago. He couldn’t be more perfect.
On a cold and gray day in London, the rain predicted at game time came punctually to the event. A thin veil that fell incessantly throughout the match while a life or death battle was fought under the sky of the London capital. The ticket to the Champions League final at stake, nothing more and nothing less. “You have all of Barcelona fans watching over you,” president Joan Laporta had told the players before the match. A lot of pressure, but nothing that a locker room accustomed to big events cannot handle.
The players left the warm-up applauded by the substitutes, who were waiting for them at the entrance to the locker room tunnel, with faces of concentration and seriousness. It was no wonder given everything that was at stake. The initial whistle sounded and the stands began their particular duel between songs from the Blaugranas and the Blues. Also the duel on the grass. A high-voltage match that started with a lot of intensity, perhaps too much for a FC Barcelona more accustomed to controlling the games than to being involved in pulses of so much pressure. He resisted with solvency, but he was hasty. I wanted, needed, an early goal and the rush prevailed over control in the early stages. Little by little, Barça gained more possession, but was closely monitored by a lethal Chelsea on the counterattack. Especially on her left lane, where Ashley Lawrence beat Lucy Bronze again and again. Between her and Leupolz they turned the English side’s game into a martyrdom.
But the Blaugrana were taking control of the game and Caroline Graham Hansen sent the first shot between the three posts from a corner, but an attentive Hampton saved it in two halves. It was the prelude to what would come later, in the 25th minute. A magnificent pass between the lines by Patri Guijarro that reached the feet of Aitana Bonmatí who with a powerful cross shot pierced the rival goal after the shot hit the legs of a defense, making it impossible for Hampton to do anything.
The Barça bench went crazy while the midfielder ran towards them celebrating the goal that equalized the tie. Players and coaching staff merged in a thousand hugs and screams of rage. The comeback was closer.
But Chelsea would immediately take charge of showing the Blaugrana that any small mistake could be paid dearly. Leupolz hit the crossbar with a powerful shot after half an hour of play while the Barça bench was growing impatient. The players commented on the plays nervously while Chelsea paradoxically lived their best minutes. Cata sent Macario another chance to corner in a game that was going to the Blaugrana. They needed to pause the game and Giráldez took advantage of an interruption while Irene Paredes was being treated to gather her players and restore order. The culé team resisted, going to the locker room with an advantage on the scoreboard. Although there was still a lot to row to reach the shore of the Champions League final.
The team came out well in the second half, much more recognizable in their football, combining with patience and weaving plays in attack, but again Chelsea would be in charge of bringing them down to earth and reminding them that any mistake would cost them dearly. Lucy made a rude defensive error that left Nüsken alone. Fortunately, her shot hit the post.
The game would turn against the Blaugrana when Chelsea was left with ten due to the expulsion of Buchanan in the 59th minute, who saw the second yellow for an ugly tackle on Patri Guijarro’s ankle.
Every minute that passed, Barça felt more comfortable. He rediscovered his football, although he needed to be more incisive in attack. And then, Aitana was knocked down inside the area in a very clear penalty that Fridolina Rolfö was surprisingly in charge of taking. The Swede did not fail and in the same goal where 15 years ago Andrés Iniesta scored one of the most iconic goals of Barcelona fans, she scored 0-2 that gave Barça a place in the Champions League final. But there was a quarter of an hour left in the game.
The rain intensified, as if it wanted to accompany the thousands of blues throats who tried to turn Stamford Bridge into hell for the culés. He pushed his team’s fans like never before, trying to make up for Buchanan’s absence with his push, and Barça had to do a titanic exercise in resistance. But he resisted, against a Chelsea focused on attacking Cata Coll’s goal, he resisted like never before and earned the most hard-fought ticket to the final in recent years. The soccer players jumped to hug each other in the center of the field. The coaching staff did the same on the sideline while the Stamford Bridge stands emptied, leaving the Blaugrana to celebrate their well-deserved victory.