Talking points ahead of the Women’s Champions League semi-finals

The Women’s Champions League is down to the last four teams, with the semi-final first legs taking place this weekend.

Chelsea take on Barcelona at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, before Arsenal play Wolfsburg away on Sunday.

Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the key talking points ahead of the ties.

2021 final reunion

Chelsea go up against Barcelona for the first time since the 2021 final that proved such a chastening experience for Emma Hayes’ side. The contest in Gothenburg, the Blues’ debut appearance in the final, saw them concede in the opening minute, then three more times before the interval en route to a 4-0 defeat. It was a first Champions League triumph for Barca, who had Lluis Cortes in charge and have subsequently been working under Jonatan Giraldez – they went on to reach the final again last term, the third time in four years, losing 3-1 to Lyon in Turin.

Barca’s Lionesses

Among the stars Chelsea are set to face this time are England players Lucy Bronze and Keira Walsh, both signed by Barcelona last summer after leaving Manchester City. They are part of an outfit that scored 29 goals across their six group stage games before beating Roma 6-1 on aggregate in the quarter-finals.

Chelsea’s quarter-final drama

Chelsea – who made a shock group-stage exit last term – may well head into the tie feeling anything is possible after the way they got through to the last four, at the expense of defending and eight-time champions Lyon. Having won the quarter-final first leg 1-0 in France, they were then seconds away from going out in extra-time of the second before a late Maren Mjelde spot-kick made it 2-2 on aggregate to force a penalty shoot-out, and Hayes’ team ended up prevailing 4-3.

Arsenal injuries

Jonas Eidevall’s Arsenal reached the semis with a 2-1 aggregate win against Bayern Munich, the second leg of which saw skipper Kim Little sustain a hamstring injury that has ruled her out of the rest of the season. Little joined a sidelined list that already featured ACL injury victims Beth Mead and Vivianne Miedema, and ahead of the clash with Wolfsburg, there was another blow for the Gunners as England skipper Leah Williamson limped off early on in Wednesday’s 1-0 loss at Manchester United, with news yet to emerge as to the severity of the problem.

Gunners revenge?

This tie also has the element of potential revenge – it was Wolfsburg, managed by Tommy Stroot, who knocked Arsenal out of the Champions League last season, 3-1 on aggregate in the quarter-finals. This is a first appearance in the semis in 10 years for the Gunners, who are the only English team to have won the competition, in 2007. Wolfsburg are two-time champions, triumphing in 2013 and 2014, and were runners-up in 2016, 2018 and 2020.