Barca target Women’s Champions semi-finals, City hand Chelsea their first defeat of the season

WOLFSBURG (GERMANY) – Barcelona are on course for a place in the last four of the Women’s Champions League after the holders thrashed Wolfsburg 4-1, while Manchester City’s 2-0 victory also condemned Chelsea to their first loss of the season in Wednesday’s quarter-final, first-leg clashes.

This last-eight clash was an uneven affair, unlike the 2023 Champions League final — played between the exact same two sides, won yet again by Barcelona, 3-2, after it had trailed by two goals.

Caitlin Dijkstra inadvertently gave Barcelona a first-half own-goal, and two quick-fire goals in the second period from Irene Paredes and Salma Paralluelo gave Barcelona absolute control.

Janina Minge scored with less than 15 minutes remaining for hosts Wolfsburg, then added a late fourth for Barcelona’s Sydney Schertenleib.

“It is a good team — Wolfsburg are a really good team but we trust in our game, we trust in our team, and we trust in our players,” Paredes told UEFA.

“We were very serious and we didn’t make mistakes — that’s key in this kind of game. “We always had to be alert because they can play long balls and punish us.”

Minge told DAZN: “At times we felt like headless chickens on the pitch … in the second half we were just chasing after them.

Barcelona, the winners of three of the past four Champions Leagues, went ahead after 26 minutes when Ewa Pajor, who spent almost a decade at the German club, harried Dijkstra into turning Aitana Bonmati’s cross into her own goal.

Barcelona seized command of the tie with two goals in three minutes after the break.

Paredes prodded in after Wolfsburg could not cope with a corner by Barcelona’s Inma Gabarro in the 50th minute, and three minutes later Paralluelo’s close-range finish rounded off a sharp counter-attack by the visitors.

Minge’s header 11 minutes from time gave Wolfsburg hope, though, before Swiss teenager Schertenleib curled in a fine finish with two minutes to go to put Barcelona firmly in control of the tie.

Miedema double –

Should Barcelona complete the job in the second leg, they would face the winners of Manchester City’s tie with Chelsea.

City hold the edge after their thrilling performance in Manchester avenged last weekend’s League Cup final loss to Chelsea.

Chelsea, the Women’s Super League leaders, are seeking a first Champions League trophy.

But Chelsea’s stunning defeat brought an end to their 28-match unbeaten run in all competitions under Sonia Bompastor’s guidance and left their dreams of a place in the semi-finals (just about) on track.

“It was a difficult performance tonight,” Bompastor said. “It is the first time we got to be beaten, so that’s not such a drama.

“We still have one game to turn it around, and we have hope. Our ambitions remain.”

With no key forward Khadija Shaw available it was an impressive result for City’s interim manager, Nick Cushing, who replaced the sacked Gareth Taylor last week.

“It’s a huge confidence boost tonight because we’ve had a lot of knocks and have been missing a lot of players, so this result gives us a lot of confidence,” the Dutch forward Vivianne Miedema said on TNT Sports.

This was the second of four consecutive meetings between the teams within the 12-day span, which include a Super League clash on Sunday and the European second leg on March 27.

Miedema did head over from close range just prior to City’s second, Fowler’s cross causing havoc, her effort crashing off the crossbar.

Miedema netted a third in the 89th minute when the substitute took Kerolin’s pass into the area and drilled it into the bottom corner.