Barça is on the verge of playing its fifth consecutive semifinals. The Catalan team managed to avoid the feared Olympique de Lyon, blaugrana's black beast, thanks to the feat of their next rival, Chelsea. With an immense Ann-Katrin Berger, stopping two shots in the penalty shootout, they brought down the defending champion and reached the semifinals of the Champions League. The English team arrives with morale through the roof, as Jonatan Giráldez has acknowledged: "The fact of beating Lyon the way they did gives them a boost of confidence that will make them stronger", acknowledges the Blaugrana coach, who also He is clear that "the tie will close at the Camp Nou."
Two years later, Chelsea and FC Barcelona face each other again. Giráldez expects "a similar match in terms of the proposal, although with players with much more experience." The English team arrives with morale through the roof after eliminating the current champion, Lyon, in the quarterfinals on penalties:
Giráldez has highlighted an opponent "who dominates different scenarios", "with a lot of danger in transitions" and who "does not suffer when he has to defend". He was able to lower the all-powerful French team, a warning that the coach from Vigo takes very seriously: “Chelsea have the ability to hold their own defensively for many minutes. He is not used to suffering without the ball and in any long ball or transition he has the capacity to hurt you, as he did to Lyon”.
Asked about the team's ability to come back if the tie were to get complicated, the Galician coach is clear: “We are a more mentally mature team. In situations where things are not working out, we are having the patience to continue creating chances and managing the game emotionally throughout the 90 minutes”.
“It will be a great game”, predicts a Giráldez who assures that the team “arrives at a good physical moment” thanks to the rotations and to recover all the injured troops –only Alexia remains in the infirmary-. "This gives us more confidence as a team and gives me more options on the bench."
With all eyes on the second leg at the Camp Nou, with the possible return of Alexia Putellas, Giráldez affirms that it will not be a distraction for tomorrow's game (1:30 p.m. Spanish time): "It doesn't worry me and it's not a problem . It's good that there is a bit of expectation about this, but inside the locker room we have it under control. I can guarantee that the focus of all the people who carry this shield is solely and exclusively tomorrow's game”.
The Blaugrana coach did not want to commit to confirming whether the captain, who has traveled to London with the rest of the team, will arrive in time to play the second leg on Thursday at the Camp Nou: "It is a subject that does not have to be discussed now. Adding pressure now doesn't make any sense. We will see".
