Barça reminds Chelsea who rules Europe

Sant Joan DespíEwa Pajor, Irene Paredes, and Claudia Pina, with a brace, reminded Chelsea that the Blaugrana are the queens of Europe. In a duel that intensified in the final minutes, Barça took a wonderful three-goal lead (4-1) to seal their qualification for the Champions League final at Stamford Bridge in a week's time. The second-half entry of Pina—the competition's top scorer—was key to catalyzing the rout.

The scoring didn't come until the second half, but Barça jumped into the game ready to bite from the first minute. With a top-flight eleven, led by Patri in the engine room and with Alexia and Aitana in charge of setting the pace, their first opportunity wouldn't be long in coming. In less than three minutes, Pajor had already shown his desire to win the Champions League for the first time with a shot that went just wide.

Without playing their best football, the Blaugranas were getting close to the desired result. Graham Hansen was the next to look for the goal, but her shot, like Pajor's, also fell flat. The best chance before the goal came from the penalty spot. Paredes, who had a fantastic game, headed a corner at the far post that hit Björn's arm. At the urging of the VAR, referee Katalin Kulcsár went to review the action on the monitor: it was a clear penalty.

It seemed that the game would go Barça's way early, but Alexia's shot crossed, easy for Hampton. Johan's fans encouraged their captain with shouts of support. It was time to keep attacking and recover. Chelsea's aggressive approach, with a very advanced defensive line, also allowed them to explore the possibilities of finding balls behind the center backs. Here, Patri's gaze and privileged foot tried to find Salma's runs, more willful than successful.

Ewa Pajor opened the scoring.

Barça were the ones attacking more, but lacked precision in the closing stages. Until Alexia, who improved as she grew, managed to overcome the anxiety of having missed the penalty with a great assist for Pajor. The Polish player, signed by Barça to score goals in decisive matches, found the gap between Chelsea's two center backs and fired a shot that Hampton couldn't match.

The goal would be a relief for the Blaugranas, who until their striker's strike hadn't been particularly accurate against the Londoners' aggressive pressing. Furthermore, having opened the scoring spurred on a crowd eager to support their team at all times. At 1-0, Barça began to enjoy a bit more of a sting, causing some moments of helplessness for a Chelsea side that, while remaining in the game, couldn't manage to get even the slightest hold.

Pina changes the face of Barça's attack.

The start of the second half was soporific; absolutely nothing happened until Pina's introduction, whose first attacking move of the entire second half would lead to a goal from Ona. Scoring the second goal would put Chelsea on the gas, and they only showed off their attacking potential with a goal from Baltimore, assisted by a young Macario who had come off the bench.

It was only a small oasis for the English team, as a hurricane named Irene Paredes headed a corner kick delivered by Pina inside the far post. The Moncada player's performance wouldn't end there. A delightful assist from Alexia for Pina would complete a rout that has dreams of another Champions League title tinged with Barça in the final in Lisbon.