Sonia Bompastor: Chelsea needed to show more pride in defeat to Barcelona

Chelsea head coach Sonia Bompastor said her team needed to “show more pride” after they were hammered 4-1 by Barcelona in their Champions League semi-final second leg at Stamford Bridge to crash out 8-2 on aggregate.

The home side had a mountain to climb after being similarly thrashed in the first leg but they were outclassed in front of their own supporters, conceding three goals in the first half as their European interests were ended at this stage by Barca for the third season running.

Two-time Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmati raced away from Chelsea’s defence to score the first midway through the first half, Ewa Pajor tapped in a second moments later then Claudia Pina curled in the goal of the match to compound the humiliation for Bompastor’s side.

“You can lose a game but at least you need to show more pride,” said Bompastor. “I told my players I will stay behind them, we are all together in that. But when you lose a game you need to be able to show more pride.

“It is what it is and we need to move forward.”

Niamh Charles and goalkeeper Hannah Hampton were involved in an awful mix-up to hand Salma Paralluelo a goal to make it 4-0.

Wieke Kaptein’s stoppage-time consolation could not mask the bitter disappointment of failing once again to replicate domestic success in Europe.

“Everyone is really sad and frustrated by the result and also by the performance,” Bompastor added. “We all wanted a good performance, especially at home, and I think today we couldn’t perform again.

“We knew we were going to have a tough challenge and play the best team in Europe. The first 30 minutes were good, the only difference was we created opportunities and were clinical.

“Probably if we had scored the first goal the game could have been different. The fans were just waiting for us to score that first goal to help us to turn things around.”

Chelsea remain on course for a domestic treble having already lifted the League Cup and with an FA Cup final to come following the completion of the Women’s Super League season.

They can make it six consecutive Women’s Super League titles with victory against Manchester United on Wednesday provided other results go their way, but European success remains elusive for England’s dominant club side.

“As a club and as a manager I want to make sure we reflect,” Bompastor said. “These two games are two big learnings for us. If we want to move forward we need to reflect on what we need to be a better team.

“Every club has that refection. When Barcelona lost the final in 2022 against Lyon they had a big reflection and how to move forward to be a better team. We’ll have that time with the sporting director and myself to make sure we improve in the right direction.”