Keira Walsh believes Chelsea can make a real statement of intent for our UEFA Women’s Champions League campaign with victory over Barcelona, backed by a passionate Stamford Bridge crowd.
The rivalry between these two teams has grown over recent years through a series of clashes in the Champions League, not least our meetings in the last three semi-finals. The latest chapter in that rivalry will be played out on Thursday evening, when we go head-to-head again at Stamford Bridge in this season’s league phase.
Given Barcelona’s success in this competition, reaching the last five finals and lifting the trophy on three of those occasions, a victory for the Blues in this game would make a big statement about our chances of ending our wait for a Champions League triumph of our own, as we look for a third consecutive win in Europe.
‘I think it would put a massive marker down, not just for our ourselves but for other teams as well,’ said Walsh. ‘It would give us a lot of confidence going into the rest of the season.
‘They’re a fantastic team and to beat Barcelona is really difficult, so to say you’ve done that, it’s a massive feat, and it would be an incredible achievement. Especially in the Champions League, it’s a massive competition, and I think it would be massive for us in terms of confidence.’
The midfielder, who knows Barcelona well from her two-and-a-half years playing there, is clearly not taking the size of the challenge facing us lightly. She is expecting a very different game from last season’s disappointing two-legged semi-final defeat, though.
‘Obviously with it not being a semi-final it is a little bit different. The stakes aren’t as high but the mentality is the same, we want to win every game. Obviously we want to win the three points, I think that will help us automatically qualify for the next round, and that’s what we want to do.
‘They’re an unbelievable team but so are we and we’ve got to take confidence in ourselves and put in a good performance. We’ve got really good squad depth, we’ve added some great players. For us it’s an exciting time and hopefully we can have a good game on Thursday.
‘We know it’s going to be a tough game and they’ve got some fantastic players, but I think we’re well prepared from last year and from training leading up to it. It’s going to be an exciting game.’
With opponents facing each other just once in the league phase format, it is Chelsea who have the home advantage for this meeting between the two teams.
Having experienced the intimidating atmosphere of a European night at the Bridge in this tie as both a Blue and an opponent, Walsh knows which she prefers, and believes the SW6 crowd could help make the difference as we look to avenge our previous defeats to Barcelona.
‘There’s definitely a rivalry between the two teams. It’s always an exciting game for the fans as well, and I’ve been on both sides of that,' she said.
‘I think for this team, just getting over that hurdle and just going into the rest of the Champions League with a lot of confidence and knowing that whoever we face we can win is massive.
‘The supporters are huge for us. As much noise as they can make at Stamford Bridge, as many people can come. I know it’s a cliche, but the fans really are the 12th player and can really help to make it a difficult atmosphere for Barcelona.
‘I’ve been on the other side of that and it wasn’t nice when I played at Stamford Bridge, so hopefully we can do that again and this time I’ll be in a Chelsea shirt so it will be nice to play.’
_You can see Chelsea take on Barcelona as one of women's football's most exciting rivalries heads to Stamford Bridge on Thursday 20 November._ [_Click here to buy tickets_](https://www.eticketing.co.uk/chelseafc/EDP/Event/Index/166?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=webarticles&utm_campaign=2526_CFCW_barca_cfcarticle)_._