BEVERLY HILLS, May 02, (THEWILL) – The female English side Chelsea FC turned around a first leg semi-final disadvantage against the Bavarian side Bayern Munich, which ended 2-1 in Bayern’s favour, to qualify for the UEFA Women’s Champions League final and keep their hopes for an unprecedented quadruple alive.
On Sunday, the ladies from the Blue side of London secured a dramatic 4-1 win over Bayern and, by booking their slot for the final, sealed a May 16 final date against Nigeria’s Asisat Oshoala’s Barcelona Femini, in Gothenburg, Sweden.
There were only 10 minutes on the clock when Chelsea’s Fran Kirby broke the deadlock, displaying her impressive link-up play with fellow forward Sam Kerr. The pressure from the visiting side pursuing an equaliser paid off as on the half-hour mark, Bayern leveled the scores with an absolute worldie from Sarah Zadrazil, their Austrian midfielder.
With one goal each, the contest flattened out briefly but the Chelsea push back intensified and resulted in another goal through Ji So-yun. The South Korean showed amazing foresight by following up her tame free kick with a precise half-volley that trickled into the back of the net and allowed Chelsea go into the interval back on the ascendancy.
This did not change when play resumed. But as the game continued and there were no goals in the horizon, Bayern began to grow into the game. As the chances came and went, tensions began rising with both sides focused on finding the next goal. But, it was Chelsea who hit the ball into the back of the net through Pernille Harder, whose header practically ended the game as a contest in Chelsea’s favour.
But, there was time for late drama because as Bayern threw everything forward to get lucky and find a way back into contention, Chelsea bagged a fourth with the last kick of the game. It was Kirby again on the end of a fortunate ball that she tapped into an empty net to steer Chelsea over the Bayern obstacle for a chance to take a shot at the UWCL title.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
