Mayra Ramirez: Chelsea 'lucky to have' striker after Women's Champions League debut goal, says Erin Cuthbert

Erin Cuthbert believes Chelsea are "lucky to have" Mayra Ramirez, after the striker scored on her UEFA Women's Champions League debut to help The Blues to a 1-1 draw against Ajax.

Having won the first leg 3-0 in Amsterdam last week, the Blues knew they already had one foot in the sem-final.

And they duly set up a two-legged clash with either defending champions Barcelona or SK Brann by securing a 4-1 aggregate victory.

Colombia international Ramirez gave the hosts the lead in the first half, and although Chasity Grant equalised after the break, Chelsea put in a resolute performance to secure their passage to the next round.

Ramirez joined The Blues from Levante in January for a British transfer fee reported to be worth £385,000.

"She’s a nightmare in training," Cuthbert told UEFA.com. "She is so difficult to manage – defenders don’t know whether to get close as she’s really good at spinning, or hold off, she’ll turn.

"We are lucky to have her at Chelsea.”

This is the fifth time Chelsea have reached the Champions League semi-finals, including last season, when they were beaten 2-1 on aggregate to Barcelona.

They may get the chance to avenge that defeat in a few weeks' time, should the Spaniards get past their Norwegian opponents.

"I don’t know who the opponent will be but we’re ready," vowed manager Emma Hayes, who will leave the club this summer to take charge of the US Women's national team.

"We’re in the semi-finals, I’m delighted," Cuthbert added. "It was a tough match tonight. Ajax did really well, they came out as we expected them to.

"Small margins in football, we could have put a little bit more away, give ourselves a bit more breathing room, but the job was really done in the first leg."

The London outfit are next in action when they face Arsenal in the Conti Cup final at Molineux.

That could be the first of four trophies they lift this season, as they are also through to the last semi-finals of the FA Cup, while sitting top of the Women's Super League.

Ajax on the other hand are left reflecting on what could have been, after their best ever run in the Women's Champions League.

Head coach Suzanne Bakker said: "I am super proud of the players today. We learned a lot from last week’s game and, in the second half, we were even better than in the first half.

"Chelsea are a really good team with top players, every year they are challenging."

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