History! Chelsea become first team to beat Barcelona at home in 5 years

In a stunning upset, Chelsea made history by handing Barcelona their first home defeat in five years with a 1-0 victory in the Women's Champions League semi-final first leg on Saturday. Erin Cuthbert's first-half goal proved to be the difference, as Chelsea claimed a vital advantage heading into the second leg in London next week.

Barcelona dominated possession in the opening exchanges and successfully created a few chances for their striker Salma Paralluelo, but the Spain international failed to make the Blues pay.

Chelsea soon assumed a comfortable position and kept Barcelona playing in front of them, while they looked to play on the counter, employing the pace of Maya Ramirez, playing her in through the channels. 

One of Chelsea’s forward forrays paid off in the 40th minute as German midfielder Sjoeke Nusken kept the ball expertly in the Barcelona area before teeing up Cuthbert. The 25-year-old Scotswoman made no mistake firing into the top right corner to hand Chelsea an opener. 

Barcelona spent the entirety of the second half looking for an equaliser, but Chelsea coped adequately, keeping danger-women Aitana Bonmati and Caroline Graham-Hansen quiet. 

Maya Ramirez had the chance to double Chelsea’s lead deep into the second half when she bullied the Barcelona backline to set herself up through on goal, but she had expended so much effort arriving that she lacked the composure at the end to complete the action. 

Two-time Balon d’Or winner Alexia Putella came agonisingly close to saving Barcelona from defeat late in the game but her attempt went wide. Referee Stephanie Frappart blew the game over, and Chelsea claimed a famous victory over their bitter European rivals, who rarely find themselves the vanquished.

In fact, the last time Barcelona Femeni were beaten at home was against Sporting Huelva in Liga F, as far back as February 2019. The 1-0 defeat to Chelsea was also the first time Barcelona failed to score in a match in two years. The last team to shut out Barcelona were Wolfsburg, in the 2022 Champions League campaign.