Chelsea 3-0 Manchester City (agg: 3-2): Fierce Blues storm into semi-finals

Chelsea overturned a 2-0 deficit in the first half of their UEFA Women's Champions League quarter-final second leg against Manchester City and then weathered a nervy second period to set up a last-four meeting with Barcelona.

Sonia Bompastor's side pressed aggressively from the off, and while City gave as good as they got in patches, Hannah Hampton had a relatively peaceful night in the Chelsea goal.

Match in brief: Ferocious Chelsea bulldoze through

Chelsea defender Nathalie Björn headed against the post from a corner early on and the Blues might have momentarily thought their luck was out when Lucy Bronze struck the post with a 14th-minute shot, but Sandy Baltimore drove the loose ball into the net and the comeback was on.

City tried to stem the tide, with Vivianne Miedema a threat at one end and a saviour at the other as she cleared an Erin Cuthbert header off the line on 34 minutes. The hosts were relentless, however, Björn improving on her previous effort with a perfectly placed header to level the aggregate score.

With the visitors reeling, Chelsea pressed their advantage, Lauren James setting up Mayra Ramírez to nudge them ahead in the tie before the break. And it could easily have got worse, Khiara Keating standing firm to deny the Colombian a second as she bore down on goal in added time.

The 20-year-old City goalkeeper kept her side in the tie with further saves from Johanna Rytting Kaneryd and Cuthbert, but nerves jangled at both ends in the second half. Chelsea hearts fluttered when Miedema powered a shot just wide on 73 minutes, but they kept pressing for the goal that might have made the tie safe.

Cuthbert fired against the crossbar with ten minutes to go, and Bompastor's charges were able to manage the pressure well in the closing stages to complete an aggregate win.

Nathalie Björn after heading Chelsea's second goalAFP via Getty Images

Visa Player of the Match: Lauren James (Chelsea)

"Lauren James had a huge impact on Chelsea's win tonight. Her availability in the build-up and her great technique in receiving and shielding the ball are of the highest standard. She gives her team some breathing space and gave Chelsea the chance to move up the pitch. Her timing and passing quality are good and also gave her an assist that was decisive today. She contributed defensively and worked hard when her team needed her."
UEFA Technical Observer Group

Paul Saffer, match reporter

Even by the high standards they have set this season, this was an incredible display from Chelsea. They tore into City from the off with a relentless demonstration of pressing, running and finishing across the whole team. Maybe City's injuries caught up with them at the end of this marathon four-game series. Chelsea now take on Barcelona in a semi-final yet again – and perhaps this time they will come out on top if they play like they did tonight.

Chelsea celebrate victory at Stamford BridgeChelsea FC via Getty Images

Reaction

Sonia Bompastor, Chelsea coach: "The challenge was difficult, losing [the first leg] by two goals, but belief is really important in football. Anything can happen when you are still alive: you just have to believe it is possible and put all the elements on the pitch to make sure you perform. I told my players, 'From the first whistle by the referee to the last whistle from the referee, I just want us to give everything and not have any regrets.' Tonight, this is what we did."

Lauren James, Chelsea forward, speaking to UEFA.com: "I couldn't be more proud to be Chelsea. I'm so proud of the girls and everyone worked so hard today, especially in the first half. We needed to start the game like that, so we didn't let City get any chances. The result speaks for itself! City are a good team. They’ve got amazing individuals that are tight on the ball, so we can't give them any space or time, and today we managed to do that."

Nathalie Björn, Chelsea defender, speaking to UEFA.com: "We started the game really well; we created a lot of chances. It's a good feeling to score and help the team, and to come in at half-time with a 3-0 lead is really good. And just try to keep playing like that – I think we had some really good chances in the second half to get to four or five. But, overall, a really good performance."

Nick Cushing, Man City interim coach, speaking to UEFA.com: "All you can ask for, however the game goes, is determination and belief, and the ambition to get back in the game. And you saw that right up to the 94th minute. I’m proud of the group. To be in the position the group is in with the injuries we've had this season, I think it's a testament to the people who we've got in that dressing room."

Kerstin Casparij, Manchester City midfielder: "[Our injury list and facing Chelsea in four successive games] caught up with us in the end. You can see in the second half, a lot of us have been playing four 90 minutes in the span of 12 days – that catches up with you at some point. Chelsea have the benefit of having a lot of quality players with fresh legs. I don't want to put all the blame on that, but it definitely didn't help us."

Sandy Baltimore takes the ball back to the centre circle after hitting Chelsea's openerGetty Images

Key stats

• This was only the second all-English tie in Women's Champions League history. In the only previous one, Birmingham City defeated Arsenal 3-0 on aggregate in the 2013/14 quarter-finals.
• Chelsea have won all six of their European quarter-final ties. However, they have lost their last two semi-finals, both to their next opponents, Barcelona.
• The Blues have won all 17 of their competitive home matches this season.
• Prior to tonight, Chelsea had never won a continental tie after losing by a margin of more than one goal in the first leg.
• Up until this one, City had never lost a two-legged Women's Champions League tie after winning the first leg.

Line-ups

Chelsea: Hampton; Bronze, Björn, Bright, Baltimore; Walsh (Jean-François 90+2), Cuthbert; Rytting Kaneryd, Kaptein, James; Ramírez (Beever-Jones 71)

Man City: Keating; Casparij, Prior, Aleixandri, Ouahabi; Roord (Park 65), Hasegawa (Layzell 85), Miedema; Kerolin, Fowler, Murphy (Coombs 46)