There was confusion at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on Saturday.
Something had happened that Barcelona Femeni are not used to: they had lost at home, in the first leg of the Women’s Champions League semi-final against English visitors Chelsea.
“How does it feel to have done what no one has been able to do for five years?” Chelsea manager Emma Hayes was asked by a local reporter to start her post-match press conference.
Barca Women had not lost at home since February 2019 (3-2 in the Spanish top flight against Sporting Huelva) and the last time they failed to score at home was in March 2018 — 1-0 to France. Lyon in the second leg of the quarter finals of the Champions League.
That said, calling it a “home game” is slightly misleading as Saturday’s game was their first at Lluis Companys, where Barcelona’s men’s team play their home games while the Camp Nou is undergoing a major renovation – the women’s team usually play their home games. at the 6,000-seat Johan Cruyff Stadium, which is part of the club’s training ground.
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Hayes has faced 19 teams in the Champions League during her eight years at Chelsea and Barcelona, who won last year’s final, had been the only one she hadn’t won. The win gives her side a narrow advantage going into the second leg at Stamford Bridge on Saturday night, but the 1-0 scoreline remains open.
Barcelona will learn many lessons from this first game.
Barca were frustrated by Chelsea (Joan Valls/Urbanandsport/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Last week, Barca midfielder Aitana Bonmati publicly complained about the lack of competition in Spain’s F League and praised the Women’s Super League, its English equivalent. It became clear what the reigning Ballon d’Or winner meant as the match against Chelsea progressed.
Hayes reacted brilliantly to the positioning of strikers Salma Paralluelo and Mariona Caldentey, closing them down with five defenders and nullifying Barca’s attacking play. It was as if Jonatan Giraldez’s team was up against a brick wall.
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In recent years, this dominant Barca team has not been used to being under pressure. They regularly beat opponents at home and the gap between them and their rivals – even Real Madrid – is significant.
But it has been a different story at times in the Champions League.
This week, their former winger Lieke Martens told Catalan newspaper Ara that Barcelona’s loss in the 2022 competition final against Lyon was partly due to overconfidence.
Martens, now of domestic rivals and Lyon’s opponents in the other Champions League semi-final at Paris Saint-Germain, had been convinced they would win. The players even sang with the fans from their hotel balcony in Turin before the final as if they were had already worked.
🔥LA GRAN CONJURA
🏩🎵Les jugadores del @FCBfemeni saluden i canten amb l’afició desplaçada a l’hotel de Torí#ChampionsTV3 #UWCL final game
📲 photo.twitter.com/fXhgowWWd3
— Esport3 (@esport3) May 21, 2022
The result was a bitter pill for Barcelona to swallow: a 3-1 loss, as they were overrated, conceding all three goals in the first 33 minutes.
Since then, they’ve focused on getting mentally stronger – coaches wanted to create a team that wouldn’t fall apart when games got tough and could come from behind to win any game.
The staff, who not only do extensive analysis of Barcelona’s opponents but are also aware of their own team’s weaknesses, decided to do this by setting up full-on games in training – realizing that Barca’s players would put more pressure on their teammates show. than most other aspects.
That win helped them return to last season’s Champions League final, where they came from two goals down against Germany’s Wolfsburg to win 3-2.
Barcelona staged a stunning comeback to win last year’s Champions League final (Rico Brouwer/Soccrates/Getty Images)
It was an important step forward, but the coaches continue to work on the team’s psychological strength. On Wednesday, they were hard-pressed in League F against third-bottom Levante Las Planas, falling 2-1 down after 19 minutes before rallying to win 4-2.
They will need those qualities again in west London this weekend.
“On a spiritual level, we have worked a lot over the years; we are a stronger team in that regard,” said Giraldez after the first match. “I have every confidence that we will go there to win the game – something we are used to doing.”
“When you have to go into the game, sometimes you rush the attacks. An important part of this is that, on an emotional level, the game plan continued until the final whistle.”
Even if they have one of the best teams in Europe, Barcelona will need to place less emphasis on individual talent when the second leg begins.
Last season they beat Chelsea 2-1 on aggregate in the semi-finals thanks to an inspired performance from Caroline Graham Hansen, who is having one of her best seasons. Hayes’ side took notice and canceled out the Norwegian’s threat in the first leg by sticking to her and ensuring she couldn’t link up with Barca’s midfielders.
The hosts instead looked to Paralluelo, who became their benchmark in attack. But the Spain international was erratic, slow to control the ball and unable to score – even though she was the closest to any Barcelona player.
Chelsea focused on shutting down their hosts and beating them on the counter – something Giraldez had warned would be the case but could not prevent from happening. The WSL team wasted time in the final minutes to hold on to their lead – Bonmati called their style of play “dirty” – but it worked to seal victory.
“If the referee allows them to go to the ground and waste time, we have to learn to play like that too,” Bonmati told Catalan television channel TV3.
And Giraldez also admitted his players will need to be smart about Chelsea’s tactics at Stamford Bridge.
“They were very good defensively,” Giraldez said. “When you lose against an opponent like that, it’s part credit to them and part credit to us. Their plan worked very well and we have to change things for the second leg.”
As the players left the dressing room after the game with disgruntled looks on their faces, the fans who came to Lluis Companys for the first time to see them chanted: “Si, se puede” – “Yes, we can do it.”
Only time will tell if that is the case.
(Top photo: Pau Barrena/AFP via Getty Images)
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