KEIRA WALSH is out to prevent a historic first all-English Women’s Champions League final when Barcelona face Chelsea.
Today’s lunchtime clash will be the Barca star’s maiden club match on home soil since her world-record transfer from Manchester City last summer.
Walsh and Lucy Bronze could be set to play at Stamford Bridge in the Champions League semis clash with the Blues.
The match comes almost a month after Chelsea’s dramatic defeat of record contest winners Lyon on penalties.
Meanwhile, Arsenal visit German side Wolfsburg tomorrow in the first leg of their semi-final
Walsh said: “I’ve not played in a Champions League semi-final for a long time so on a personal note, it is really exciting.
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“Although it would be good for English women’s football if there were two English teams in the final, Lucy and me will be trying our best to prevent that from happening.
“We’re playing for Barcelona and with the kind of objectives we have here, we want to be in that game (the final).
“Playing in these sorts of games is what you want and it’s the reason why I signed for Barcelona.”
The last time the football titans went toe-to-toe was in May 2021 when Chelsea fell to a heavy 4-0 Champions League final loss.
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However both sides have seen a number of players depart and arrive.
These include Lauren James who has emerged as one of the Blues’ most formidable forwards since her July 2021 move from Manchester United.
Walsh added: “The girls will take confidence from the experience they had in the last final.
“They played really well, scored a lot of goals and created chances so they can draw on that experience
“But it is two completely different teams this time around and a lot of different players for both sets of team. In that sense, it is a new challenge.
“We’ve been preparing for this the whole week.
“People look at our scorelines in the Spanish league and think that the games aren’t that competitive
“But in our first half against Atletico Madrid last weekend it wasn’t an easy game.
“It was man for man and it was hard to try to figure it out (to break them down) until the second half (of our 4-0 win).
“I think those sorts of games are competitive so they do prepare you.”
Today’s clash will be followed by a second-leg duel on Thursday night at Spotify Camp Nou.
And it could see Walsh pulling the strings alongside midfield stars Aitana Bonmati and Patri Guijarro.
She added: “One thing they’ve really pushed me on here is being more aggressive and being a bit more streetwise in terms of when to make fouls and let play carry on.
“For me, that’s a side that I’ve really improved on and something that Jonatan (Giraldez – Barcelona’s head coach) spoke to me about.
“I also combine a lot more in midfield.
At Manchester City we’d like to keep possession and keep the ball, but it wasn’t necessarily a lot of short passes in the midfield.
“It was a case of getting the ball wide to the wingers.
“But they always want me to try and find Patri and Aitana and play short passes. a
“I feel like I’ve improved defensively and become a bit more aggressive.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
