Chelsea must forget the past when they re-open old wounds and welcome Barcelona to Stamford Bridge in front of more than 25,000 fans on Saturday.
A two-legged Women’s Champions League semi-final gives them a chance to show they have recovered from the scars of their 4-0 defeat by the Catalans in the 2021 final.
Barca were ahead inside 32 seconds and dominant throughout, but Chelsea’s experienced left-winger Guro Reiten has long-since moved on.
“I don’t think it was damaging,” the Norwegian told Standard Sport. “Against the best, you can’t concede early, because they’ll eat you alive. We’ve just got to show that we have learned from that experience and are a better team now than we were.”
Chelsea failed to reach the knockout stage last season, but this term they topped a group containing Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Albanian champions KFF Vllaznia. In the quarter-finals, the Blues knocked out holders Lyon in dramatic fashion.
Reiten’s goal won the first leg in France, but Lyon were then heading through with a 2-0 lead at Stamford Bridge, before a 128th-minute Chelsea penalty in extra-time took the game to a shootout, where Chelsea prevailed.
“I’m never going to play a game like that ever again,” said Reiten. “I think everyone watching it was like, ‘Oh my God, this is madness’.”
Arsenal face Wolfsburg in the other tie, and Reiten said: “It tells you something about the quality of the WSL, having two teams reach the semi-finals.
“It’s been a few really good days. We’ve had some good sessions preparing. We love to play in front of our fans. They follow us everywhere. Chelsea belongs in Stamford Bridge, so why shouldn’t we play there?”
Of the return leg in the 99,000-seater Camp Nou, Reiten added; “Oh my God, that’s going to be scary. For them to sell that out, game after game, just shows where women’s football is.
“Last few years, they’ve barely lost a game. Normally, the pressure is on us. In this game it’s a bit different. We don’t always play the most beautiful football, but when it matters most, we have been ruthless and been best.
“Everyone keeps talking about Barcelona, ‘They are the favourites, blah, blah, blah’. I don’t care. We are a great team, and we are going to show it tomorrow.”
