Barcelona Women left to mount historic second-leg comeback

Up until a few years ago, the prospect of seeing a Spanish side grace the semi-finals of the Women's Champions League would have simply been unthinkable, similarly nobody could have imagined a whopping 10,352 fans flocking to the Miniestadi to watch a game of women's football. It's against this backdrop of the seemingly impossible becoming possible that Las Azulgranas will head to Paris in search of a historic second-leg comeback, buoyed by a climate in which anything would seem possible, or at any rate, somewhat less impossible.

The hosts made a cagey start in this, their first-ever Champions League semi-final appearance as the Parisians enjoyed the lion's share of possession in the opening exchanges. As the minutes ticked by, Barça began to a claim a foothold in proceedings, putting their early nerves firmly behind them to counter the visitors' pressure. However, with 24 minutes on the clock, it was PSG who made the breakthrough through Marie-Laure Delie, who proved to be one of the game's standout performers. The French forward brought the ball under her spell in the box, before firing home on the spin to put the visitors ahead. PSG once again began to dominate possession and 10 minutes later they duly doubled their advantage. This time round, Delie turned provider, sending in an inch-perfect cross from the right for Cristiane Rozeira to head home. The Catalans found themselves two goals down at the break, which was rather harsh given the way the first half had panned out.

With the second period barely underway, Shirley Cruz netted PSG's third of the afternoon as the French outfit began to flex their muscles. The Costa Rican picked the ball up on the edge of the area, before unleashing a sumptuous chipped finish that floated past the powerless Sandra Paños and into the top corner. In a bid to engineer a way back into the game, Llorens scrapped his defensive back five and went with three across the back. Barcelona's clearest opening of the game fell to Vicky Losada, who met a pull-back from the right, only to send the ball straight into the hands of the PSG custodian. With his side trailing 3-0, the Barcelona coach turned to his bench with Patri Guijarro entering the fray in place of Line Roddik Hansen. With just minutes remaining, Barbara Latorre, also a second-half substitute, reduced the arrears when she latched onto a ball over the top and capitalised on some hesitancy in the PSG backline to prod home. The two sides will resume battle next Saturday at the Parc des Princes, where Las Blaugranas will be going all out to stage a historic fightback in a bid to keep their Champions League dream alive.