An emotional Emma Hayes topped up her glass of bubbly with tears of joy after Chelsea Women overcame a 2-1 deficit against Bayern Munich at Kingsmeadow to reach their first Champions League final.
When Swiss ref Esther Staubli blew the final whistle on a thrilling match, it finished 4-1 to the Blues (5-3 on aggregate) thanks to a last-minute bonus goal from Fran Kirby, firing into an empty net with Bayern keeper Laura Benkarth stranded upfield.
And while there are still league loose ends to tie up in a tight domestic battle, the focus now shifts to Gothenburg for the final against Barcelona on 16 May.
Key to Chelsea’s victory last weekend was the return of captain Magda Eriksson, back in the heart of defence after a fortnight's injury lay-off.
Naimh Charles was preferred to Jonna Andersson at left back – a slightly surprising choice in view of Eriksson’s return, as the two ‘ssons’ have a Scandinavian defensive telepathy.
Knowing they were 2-1 down from the first leg, the onus was on the Blues to level the aggregate score, and a Special K link-up between Sam Kerr and Kirby in the 10th minute led to Chelsea’s first.
Bayern's equaliser was the most spectacular shot of the day, however. As the half-hour mark approached, Sarah Zadrazil let fly from 35 yards, her shot grazing the underside of the crossbar and giving Ann-Katrin Berger no chance.
Ji So-Yun gave Chelsea the edge again just before half-time. Kirby was fouled on the edge of the area, and Ji’s free kick ricocheted back off the Bayern defensive wall, allowing her to fire again through a thicket of legs into the net.
It looked like extra time, with both legs 2-1 and each side with an away goal, but an 84th minute Jess Carter free kick saw Pernille Harder ghost in to head home.
The dying minutes were almost unbearably tense as Bayern threw everything (including their keeper), allowing Kirby’s last-gasp breakaway finish.
“We’re disappointed, of course. I think 4-1 is a very hard result, but it's not deserved,” said Bayern coach Jens Scheuer, adding: “Good luck to Chelsea in the final.”
Hayes admitted she was in turmoil in the dying stages of the match, trying to keep a cap on her emotions. "Everyone executed what they had to do. We put thousands of hours into what we do – I almost can't let the tears go. I'm a very maternal figure here,” she said, sharing the spikes on her phone’s heart monitor with reporters.
“I just wanted to go to this final. I want to win this competition,” she declared. If Chelsea do go on to lift the Women’s Champions League trophy, she’ll need a new phone.
Navigating the course and preserving her most important players for the big day, will involve key contributions from the full Chelsea squad in the coming days.
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and unless specifically stated are not necessarily those of Hammersmith & Fulham Council.
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