Chelsea set for Barcelona showdown after sealing Ajax victory in Women's Champions League

Chelsea booked their spot in the Women’s Champions League semi-finals after sealing a 4-1 aggregate win over Ajax on Wednesday night.

A three-goal victory in Amsterdam had already made the Blues overwhelming favourites ahead of the return leg at Stamford Bridge.

Mayra Ramirez’s first-half strike all-but sealed their passage to the next round after Erin Cuthbert’s sharp tackle in the Ajax half allowed Guro Reiten to send the Colombian through, and she made no mistake with the finish for her first European goal.

The visitors levelled after Chasity Grant broke in behind on 65 minutes and her shot managed to softly wriggle through Zecira Musovic’s grasp.

The Swedish goalkeeper made up for her error with a fine diving stop to deny Romee Leuchter what would have been a winner on the night with ten minutes to go.

Chelsea will discover their semi-final opponents on Thursday night, when defending champions Barcelona host Brann in the second leg of their quarter-final tie. The Spanish side lead 2-1 on aggregate and few would bet against them reaching the last four.

Emma Hayes will be out for revenge in her final campaign as coach of the west Londoners after Barcelona beat Chelsea in last year’s semis as well as the 2021 final.

In Wednesday’s other quarter-final, Lyon completed a 6-2 win over Benfica to set up a tie against either Paris Saint-Germain or Hacken. PSG lead that tie 2-1.