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Sam Kerr’s dream of successful the one title that is eluded her at Chelsea is over for an additional 12 months, shattered within the Camp Nou regardless of the Blues’ brave 1-1 draw with good Barcelona within the Girls’s Champions League semi-final.
The grasp finisher did not get on the scoresheet for a change however Kerr was instrumental in Chelsea’s second-half equaliser which obtained the English champions again into the sport within the 67th minute simply three minutes after Barca had gone forward.
However main 1-0 from the primary leg at Stamford Bridge, Barcelona, roared on by a house crowd within the area of 70,000 at their Camp Nou citadel, have been capable of see out a deserved triumph on Thursday, prevailing 2-1 on combination to succeed in the ultimate of Europe’s greatest membership match for the third season operating.
They will play Arsenal, who’ve Kerr’s fellow Matildas Caitlin Foord and Steph Catley of their ranks, or Wolfsburg, who’re locked at 2-2 after the primary leg of their semi in Germany.
The second leg will probably be in London on Monday, with the ultimate to be performed in Eindhoven on June 3.
Kerr had hoped to e book that date within the Netherlands however obtained few possibilities to display her prowess with Barcelona dominating a lot of the first-half possession although it got here to surprisingly little.
The Matildas captain barely obtained a glance in earlier than the break however as Chelsea started to throw warning to the wind within the second half, she turned extra concerned earlier than Norwegian Caroline Graham Hansen, the tie’s excellent participant who’d already had a objective dominated out for handball within the first half, struck for Barca.
The striker who’d additionally scored Barca’s winner at Stamford Bridge completed off a lethal counter-attack after being put by way of brilliantly by the good midfielder Aitana Bonmati.
However Chelsea have been stung into life, Kerr being given her first sniff of objective with a stunning dinked through-ball from Melanie Leupolz placing her one-on-one with goalkeeper Sandra Panos.
Although the Australian was denied at shut quarters by a superb sprawling cease by Panos, the ball fell straight to Guro Reiten, who buried the equaliser.
Kerr then obtained one other good look within the 74th minute, however her goal-bound effort within the field this time was nicely blocked by defender Irene Paredes. Her final significant contribution, a superb cross from the left, then simply eluded Reiten.
The most recent defeat to Barcelona – Chelsea have been hammered 4-0 within the remaining by the Catalans two years in the past – means they will now have to focus on home issues, searching for to retain their Girls’s Tremendous League and FA Cup crowns.
Scant comfort for Kerr and her teammates was that they have been the primary to carry Barcelona on their very own turf for over 4 years, and the primary to take action within the Champions League since Lyon again in 2018.
However Barcelona, who had Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas again on the bench after 10 months out injured, will take all of the beating as they search to regain the crown they misplaced to Lyon final season.
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