Chelsea Women go in search of a historic quadruple as they meet Barcelona in 2020-21 UEFA Women Champions League Final at Gamla Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Emma Hayes’ Chelsea are appearing in their first-ever European Final, whereas Barcelona are featuring in their second UEFA Women’s Champions League Final after having lost the 2019 Final 4-1 to Lyon.
The winning club of this match will also make history in becoming the first team to have won Europe’s premier competition across both genders.
Team News
Chelsea have no fresh injury concerns to report after thrashing Reading 5-0 to retain their Women’s Super League crown.
Maren Mjelde remains absent with a knee injury.
Barcelona’s Andrea Pereira is suspended for this final after she was booked twice during their semi-final tie against PSG.
Andrea Falcon is also ruled out for the Catalonian team with a serious knee injury.
Route to Final
Chelsea
| Round | Opposition | Aggregate Result |
| R32 | Benfica | 8-0 |
| R16 | Atletico Madrid | 3-1 |
| Quarter Finals | VFL Wolfsburg | 5-1 |
| Semi Finals | Bayern Munich | 5-3 |
Bethany England netted three goals across both legs of Chelsea’s Round of 32 tie against Benfica, as Emma Hayes’ Blues cruised to an 8-0 victory on aggregate.
Two penalties from Maren Mjelde plus a first leg strike from Fran Kirby saw Chelsea edge past Atletico Madrid in a nervy Last 16 encounter, thereby setting up a tricky Quarter Final tie in which the Blues eventually cruised past Germany’s VFL Wolfsburg 5-1 on aggregate.
Chelsea again faced German opposition in the semi-finals as they lost the first leg away at Bayern Munich by a 2-1 result, but a Kirby brace inspired the reigning WSL champions to a dominant 4-1 home win which sealed their place in the final 5-3 on aggregate.
Barcelona
| Round | Opposition | Aggregate Result |
| R32 | PSV | 8-2 |
| R16 | Fortuna Hjorring | 9-0 |
| Quarter Finals | Manchester City | 4-2 |
| Semi Finals | PSG | 3-2 |
Lieke Martens netted three goals in Barcelona’s opening tie of the competition as they ran riot in a pair of 4-1 wins, which sealed their passage to the Last 16 with an aggregate victory of 8-2.
Barcelona enjoyed a comfortable Round of 16 tie against Fortuna Hjorring to thrash them 9-0 on aggregate, as Jennifer Hermoso delivered a first leg hattrick against the Danish opposition.
Asisat Oshoala proceeded to net in both legs of their Quarter-Final win over Manchester City, as they progressed 4-2 on aggregate despite losing the second leg 2-1 away to the Citizens.
Hermoso saw her opening goal in the first leg of their semi-final away at PSG cancelled out by Alana Cook, but a second leg brace from Martens proved the difference in a 2-1 home win to confirm their place in the final 3-2 on aggregate.
Stat Attack
- This is Chelsea’s first-ever meeting against Barcelona in UEFA Women’s Champions League.
- Chelsea have avoided defeat in two previous matches against Spanish opposition defeating Atletico Madrid in Last 16 of this season’s edition (W1, D1).
- Barcelona have won just one of six previous matches against English opposition in this competition (W1, D1, L4), defeating Man City 3-0 in first leg of this season’s Quarter-Final.
- 16 of Chelsea’s 21 goals in this competition this season have come from their forward quartet of Fran Kirby (6), Pernille Harder (4), Sam Kerr and Bethany England (3).
- Four of Hermoso’s six Champions League goals for Barcelona this season have come in the first half.
- Spanish clubs have emerged victorious in seven of eight major finals against English opposition across all UEFA competitions this century.
- This is the first Champions League match involving Chelsea and Barcelona this season to be refereed by Germany’s Riem Hussein.
Prediction
With history at stake beyond a maiden Women’s European title and both teams boasting the two joint top goalscorers going for the Golden Boot, this promises to be a blockbuster clash between the reigning champions of England and Spain.
Chelsea definitely have the attack needed to clinch this crown but their defence at times has been a slight issue in terms of consistency, yet they do have Ann-Katrin Berger who has been just exceptional in goal across all competitions this season.
Barcelona meanwhile have proven this season that they’re not a team to be taken lightly with dominant displays in all competitions, underlined by the fact that they have lost just one match all season and have scored over 100 goals.
Tactics therefore are going to be crucial because Chelsea’s defence simply have to be pitch perfect in every sense, otherwise I can see Barcelona winning this game unless Hayes can maximise her attacking tactics to tear Barcelona’s defence apart.
Either way, this is going to be one mouth-watering contest for neutrals given Barcelona’s poor record against English opposition, which will be a psychological concern for the Spanish team where Chelsea will have nerves to overcome in their first European Final.
Barcelona however can take heart from the impressive record of Spanish clubs against English opposition in all major finals across UEFA competitions this century, which demonstrates just how unpredictable this final is across both tactics and tactics.
If I am being honest, I genuinely can see this match needing extra-time and perhaps penalties which would be fitting of how enormous this game is for both English and Spanish football but Chelsea should edge it if they are disciplined enough.
Prediction: Chelsea 2-1 Barcelona (After Extra Time)
Result: Chelsea 0-4 Barcelona
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