Never say never – Lucy Bronze backs Chelsea to stage Champions League fightback

Lucy Bronze refused to count Chelsea out of the Champions League after they went down 4-1 to holders Barcelona in the first leg of their semi-final in Spain.

Ewa Pajor fired the hosts in front in the 35th minute at the Johan Cruyff Stadium and substitute Claudia Pina made it two with 20 minutes left.

Sandy Baltimore pulled one back in the 74th minute, but Irene Paredes got Barcelona’s third with eight minutes remaining before Pina struck again at the death.

“I think we can do it,” Chelsea and England defender Bronze told TNT Sports. “Never say never. Nothing is impossible.

“I think we’ve got it within us to come out and put on a big performance, a lot of intensity, a lot of pressure.

“We’re playing at Stamford Bridge, a place where we absolutely love playing. We’ve had some fantastic results from performances this season, so we’re just going to need an even bigger one next weekend.”

Chelsea’s Hannah Hampton saved Alexia Putellas’ ninth-minute penalty and was the busier of the two goalkeepers, particularly towards the end of the contest.

It was Chelsea’s heaviest defeat in 17 months and their biggest blow under manager Sonia Bompastor, who is hoping to guide the Blues to the second Champions League final in their history after they were beaten 4-0 by Barcelona in 2021.

Bronze, who lifted the same trophy with Barca last season, said Chelsea allowed their rhythm to be disturbed by their formidable opposition, who she felt dictated the style of play.

“I think we let the game get away from us at the end,” Bronze added. “I think Barca were the better team over the 90 minutes. They deserved the win.

“I think maybe we let up too many goals at the end when we were trying to keep going, lost our rhythm a lot, although we didn’t really get into it as much as we probably feel like we could have.

“I feel like we could have pushed ourselves to get another goal, but obviously, in doing that, we’ve left gaps the other way.”