Chelsea 0-2 Barcelona - Aitana Bonmati instrumental as Barca beat Chelsea to reach UEFA Women's Champions League final

A Chelsea sending off and a Barcelona goal in each half turned the semi-final on its head and sent the UEFA Women’s Champions League holders through to their fourth final in a row.

The away team produced a much better performance at Stamford Bridge than they did a week ago at home, when they were prevented from even getting a shot on target.

This time they got one midway through the first half, and scored with it. Aitana Bonmati received the ball on the edge of the box, made herself space and whipped an effort towards goal. A wicked deflection from Kadeisha Buchanan took the ball towards the corner and far out of reach of keeper Hannah Hampton.

Chelsea kept their heads up and made a couple of good chances, most significantly one from Melanie Leupolz, who received the ball on a plate from Lauren James, only to rattle the crossbar with the goal gaping.

In the second half, it was another moment involving Kadeisha Buchanan that made the difficult task of hanging on even harder for Chelsea. Five minutes after receiving her first yellow card for a big hit on Salma Paralluelo, Buchanan received her marching orders when she came in late on Patricia Gujarro and caught her on the toe.

That gave Barcelona a numerical advantage they weren’t going to waste, and they set out to tire the home side by setting up camp inside their half.

The tie’s winning goal came from the spot. Bonmati charged into the box and found herself the filling in a sandwich between Jess Carter and Amy Lawrence. Carter clipped the midfielder who went down, and the referee had no hesitation in pointing to the spot.

Fridolina Rolfo coolly dispatched the spot kick. Two goals and a player down meant there was no way back for Chelsea.

Emma Hayes’ final home game in charge ends in defeat. As she departs to manage the US national side after 12 years in charge, her tenure will not have a champagne ending.

Their fans will point to the decisions which added up to the sending off of Kadeisha Buchanan, and a second goal from the penalty spot, but when they take the time to honestly reflect, they will have to accept that each was called correctly.

Buchanan was the architect of her own fate. Having received one yellow she needed to be careful, and wasn’t. That subsequent physical advantage was always going to result in more better chances for Barcelona and the second goal was going to come one way or another.

Over two strong legs, the Chelsea defence had simply run out of steam by the time Aitana Bonmati came rushing into the box and it was easier to send her to the floor than execute a precise rescuing tackle.

It was not a knife-edge, 50-50 match. The manner in which Barcelona played in West London, penning Chelsea back for the entire game, rendered all of these events more likely. The Catalan giants were not themselves a week ago. Tonight they looked more than capable of defending their title in Bilbao next month.

Bonmati was as close to unplayable as it's possible to be. Chelsea simply could not cope with her pace down the right, while her vision, and the (89%) accuracy of her passes opened up the pitch for team-mates and exhausted Barcelona's opponents. Her goal was a bit lucky but the sense was that if not then later.

And it was later indeed that she created the penalty opportunity, still with the acceleration required to sprint towards goal after running around for 70 minutes, inviting a clumsy challenge from the otherwise excellent Jess Carter. It was a difficult day at the office for Chelsea's back line, and Bonmati was the biggest reason why.

CHELSEA: Hampton 7; Lawrence 7, Carter 6, Buchanan 5, Charles 6; Leupolz 7, Cuthbert 7; Nusken 6, Kaneryd 7, James 7, Macario 8… Subs: Bright 6, Reiten 6, Kirby 6, Perisset 7, Mjelde, Beever-Jones 7

BARCELONA: Coll 7; Paredes 7, Paralluelo 8, Graham Hansen 6, Patri 7, Aitana 9, Bronze 8, Rolfo 8, Walsh 6, Engen 7, Batlle 6; …Subs: Pina 7, Mariona 7, Marta, Alexia NA

25’ - Goal for Barcelona! Bonmati receives the ball on the edge of the box, shifts rightwards to make space for herself and hits it low and left. An unlucky deflection off Buchanana sends it into the corner with nothing Hannah Hampton could do about it.

31’ - Chance for Chelsea! Macario puts the ball in front of Lauren James who runs it to the left and cuts back to Leupolz in acres of space. The goal is gaping but she clatters the bar,

59’ - Red card for Chelsea! Five minutes after picking up a first yellow card, Kadeisha Buchanan receives her second. She came in late and caught Patri on the toe. A bit soft but she should have been more careful.

73’ - Penalty for Barcelona! Bonmati speeds into the box and goes down under a clumsy challenge from Jess Carter. No doubt in the referee’s mind.

75’ - Goal for Barcelona! Fridolina Rolfo sends Hannah Hampton the wrong way with a cool strike, low and left. It’s very hard to see a way back for Chelsea now.

Barcelona dominated possession retaining the ball for 68% of the time it was in play

Barcelona had more than double the number of passes completed as Chelsea - 688 to 323

This will be Barcelona's fourth Women's Champions League final appearance in a row - a club record

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