After the recent international break with England, all focus is now on Barcelona’s Champions League semi-final, first leg away to Chelsea on Saturday. It was intriguing to watch Chelsea come through a very tight quarter-final with Lyon, knowing that we would play the winners. I know all of the Chelsea players and, as an ex-Lyon player myself, thought my old club would win over the two legs. In the second leg, once Lyon got ahead I didn’t know how Chelsea would get back into it. Lyon didn’t create the amount of chances I thought they would and Chelsea’s penalty to level the tie at the end of extra-time, won by Lauren James and converted by Maren Mjelde, came from nothing. When it went to a penalty shoot-out, it was about who could hold their nerve. Arsenal and Manchester City have players who are at the same level but in recent years Chelsea have always found a way to win in clutch moments. If there was a player who was going to get something for Chelsea that night, it was Lauren James. LJ can always come up with a bit of magic and I am just so pleased she is English and an international team-mate of mine.
Of course, I would have been happy to return to Lyon for the semi-final but it will be amazing to come to Stamford Bridge on Saturday. It means so many family and friends can come and watch. My Barcelona team-mate Keira Walsh and I think we might have a number of fans on our side. Also, a big factor for us could be the fact we are at home in the second leg. Barca are so strong at home and I expect the Camp Nou to be sold out for the return on April 27 – and I don’t see any other team having the home advantage we do, although away from home it is getting more difficult to win as time goes by and the standard of opposition continues to rise. In women’s football we are seeing home advantage come to the fore more and more nowadays, as it is in the men’s game.
I don’t think people would have bet on Barca’s men’s side doing so well in La Liga this season without the likes of superstars such as Lionel Messi but the support that both our teams have makes a massive difference and we hit another level. I remember being on the bench with two of the younger players in the squad, with the ground packed out, and one of them said ‘this is Barca’. This is what we are here for. On or off the pitch you sense it. The fans understand it.
The first leg against Chelsea will be difficult but it is something the whole team is excited for. We’re excited to come over and face top players. LJ is someone I think I have a good relationship with for England on and off the pitch, and we message each other all the time. She has been playing on the right for England, just in front of me, so it has been nice to build a connection. I love to go up against her in training and she is probably the player I have the best relationship with at Chelsea. It will also be nice to see Kadeisha Buchanan, who I was close to at Lyon.
People talk a lot about the strength of the Women’s Super League, and the growth of the league, but with only one Champions League finalist in recent years, I think the expectation is for more English teams to be getting there more regularly. The WSL is definitely overdue some more finalists, for sure. The standard of the Champions League is now getting to where we hoped it would get to. A lot of eyes will be on our tie with Chelsea and I will relish that. Two years ago, Chelsea lost 4-0 to Barca in the final but they are far more experienced now. It was a game to forget for Chelsea then but they will have learnt so much from that experience and Barca won’t have a fear factor for them. The first leg in London is a lunchtime kick-off and I like that as I can get stuck in early, although most of the team like their siestas so it’s less popular with them! We are more used to evening kick-offs in Spain but I can’t wait to get stuck in to some familiar faces on Saturday and go into battle early doors.
Lucy Bronze is looking forward to Barcelona’s Champions League semi-final first leg away to Chelsea on Saturday. After watching Chelsea come through a very tight quarter-final with Lyon, Bronze knows all of the Chelsea players and was surprised when they managed to level the tie at the end of extra-time with a penalty won by her international team-mate Lauren James