The Blues got off to the worst possible start when we fell behind inside 30 seconds, after Lieke Martens’ shot hit the crossbar and we failed to deal with the rebound, which was sent straight back into the danger zone and then Fran Kirby’s clearance rebounded off Melanie Leupolz and looped over Ann-Katrin Berger.

Things went from bad to worse when Barca were awarded a soft penalty, which captain Alexia confidently slotted home, and with 21 minutes on the clock we were three down following a clinical finish by Aitana Bonmati.

While it looked rather one-sided on the scoreboard, there had been a few noteworthy chances for the Blues, two of which had fallen to Pernille Harder, but we hadn’t been able to make the most of them.

Our opponents, on the other hand, were completely ruthless; moments after Sam Kerr had sent a half-chance off target, Barcelona extended their advantage further through a tap-in from Caroline Graham Hansen. With the half-time whistle still 10 minutes away, we were 4-0 down and our Champions League dream had turned into a nightmare.

The players deserve credit for the character shown after the break, when we came out purposefully and put Barcelona on the backfoot, but the minutes ticked by without a breakthrough at the Gamla Ullevi stadium in Gothenburg.

Harder and Kerr both threatened with headers, as we enjoyed more joy down the flanks following the half-time introduction of Guro Reiten. There was to be no consolation goal and our dream of European glory will have to wait for another year.

The disappointment of the evening will live with Emma Hayes and her players for some time, but the achievement of reaching our first Champions League final should not be forgotten, having previously come up short twice at the semi-final stage.

It has also been a season in which we’ve added our fourth WSL title and a second Continental League Cup and there is little time for soul searching, as we still have an FA Cup tie against Everton to come on Thursday before the campaign comes to an end.

The same starting line-up that beat Bayern Munich in the second leg of our semi-final and then saw off Reading to secure the WSL title was retained for the biggest game in our history, when our new home kit was on display for the second time this weekend after the men’s team wore it in the FA Cup final.

Berger, so pivotal on the road to Gothenburg, most notably with her two penalty saves in the win over Atletico Madrid in the last 16, started in goal. Magdalena Eriksson, who was making history as the first Swede to captain a team in a Champions League final, lined up alongside her regular centre-back partner Millie Bright, with Jess Carter and Niamh Charles filling the two full-back positions.

In midfield Ji So-Yun, the first South Korean to play in the final of this competition, was joined by Sophie Ingle and Leupolz. The attacking trio of Kirby, Kerr and Harder came into tonight’s game having scored 69 of the team’s 120 goals this season.

Barcelona, meanwhile, started with seven players who also began the 2019 final, which highlighted their experience in the competition, and their threat in the final third was illustrated by the 128 goals they’d scored this term in La Liga alone.

That goalscoring prowess was on show straight from kick-off, as the Spanish side made a dream start by scoring inside the first 30 seconds. Martens cut in from the left-hand side and curled a shot that evaded the despairing dive of Berger, only for the crossbar to come to our rescue. It proved to be only a temporary reprieve, however, as Kirby’s attempted clearance cannoned straight into Leupolz and looped over Berger and into the back of the net.

We almost hit back with an equaliser a minute or so later, as Kerr’s cross forced a corner and though the set-piece was half-cleared, the ball was whipped straight back into the box and Harder nipped in ahead of her marker, only to send her finish over the bar.

It was a breathless start to the contest and Barca were on the attack again straight away, forcing Berger into a slightly nervy save after the keeper had sent a clearance straight back to the opposition. Finals are typically slow burners, as both teams look to feel their way into the contest – this one had began at a frantic pace, with clear chances at both ends.

Another two came Chelsea’s way in quick succession, the first of which fell to Harder again, this time after a neat flick from Kerr had sent her through. A fantastic last-ditch challenge prevented the Dane from beating Panos and then, from the resulting corner, Eriksson directed a header just off target.

Having got ourselves back on the front foot and causing Barcelona’s back-line problems, we suffered another huge setback when Leupolz challenged Hermoso inside the area and the referee pointed to the spot. There looked to be minimal contact, but after a long check by the VAR – in use for the first time in the competition this season – the decision was confirmed. Up stepped Alexia to send Berger the wrong way.

Things went from bad to worse a few minutes later, as Barcelona made it 3-0. The little breaks just weren’t going our way, as Carter slid in on Bonmati and the ball bounced off the midfielder’s shins and settled perfectly for her to slot a calm finish past Berger. Now we had a mountain to climb, albeit with 70 minutes in which to do so.

The Spanish champions were showing no signs of letting up, though, as they pressed us relentlessly, both high up the pitch and in their own half on the rare occasions when we managed to play through the first press. Meaningful possession in Barca territory was proving hard to come by and our forwards were feeding on scraps. Kirby, a few days on from winning the Football Writers’ Association Women’s Player of the Year award, was unable to get on the ball in the areas in which she has hurt opponents time and again this season.

Any half-chances that came our way simply had to be taken, and there was clear frustration from Kerr when she lofted one such opportunity high and wide of the target. Barcelona punished us from their very next attack, as the ever-dangerous Martens shrugged off the challenge of Charles and put it on a plate for Graham Hansen to make it 4-0. We’d played only 36 minutes and it was now looking like a damage-limitation operation for the Blues.

Harder, who had looked our biggest threat in the first half, came close to pulling a goal back just before the interval when she fashioned a yard of space and fired a low shot towards the near post which Panos did brilliantly to keep out. Ji also forced the keeper into a save before the opening 45 minutes were up, this time from a free-kick just outside the box.

Half-time changes are rare under Hayes, but tonight it was clear something needed to change and she made an adjustment to both the personnel and the system. Guro Reiten came on for Leupolz and immediately took up a position wide on the left and Charles, so often on the backfoot throughout the opening half, was pushed much higher down the right.

We began the second period brightly, with a glancing header from Kerr calling Panos into action and then several corners being forced. Eriksson stayed up from one such set-piece and she appealed in vain for a penalty after receiving a shove in the box. It was one to be filed in the ‘soft, but we’ve seen them given’ category, although on this occasion the referee remained unmoved.

Barca’s relentlessness of the first 45 minutes had given way to a rather more sedate second half in which they looked to contain the Blues, although they continued to look threatening on the rare occasions when they countered. But the better chances were coming at the other end and the next was one of our best, as Reiten’s free-kick found Harder unmarked but she couldn’t get enough power on the header. Having previously lost two Champions League finals with Wolfsburg, the Dane hasn’t enjoyed the best of luck on the biggest stage.

Legs were starting to look a little heavier, so it came as little surprise to see Hayes bring on Bethany England and Erin Cuthbert to freshen things up for the final 20 minutes. Still we battled gamely, but there was to be no consolation goal. It was simply one of those nights when nothing had gone for us.

The referee signalled an end to proceedings after two minutes of stoppage time – but not before Oshoala was denied a goal by the offside flag – at which point the Barcelona party could begin. The Spanish side were Champions League winners for the first time, becoming the eighth name on the trophy. The Blues players and coaching staff were left to wonder what might have been.

It was in August 2012 that Hayes took the reins at Chelsea, a few months after the men’s team had won the Champions League for the first time. Such a prospect for our women’s team, then languishing in the lower reaches of the WSL, was little more than a distant dream. Nine years on, the trophy was within touching distance and it just wasn’t our night, but if there’s one thing we’ve learned from Hayes’ time in charge it’s that there is a response to every setback.

This time we came up short, but the players have done everyone at the club proud and this isn’t the end of the journey. We’ll be back.

Chelsea (4-3-2-1) Berger; Charles, Bright, Eriksson (c), Carter; Leupolz (Reiten h/t), Ji (Cuthbert 73), Ingle; Kirby, Harder; Kerr (England 73)Unused subs Musovic, Telford, Blundell, Fleming, Spence, Andersson, Fox, Beever-JonesBooked Ingle 38

Barcelona (4-3-3) Panos; Torrejon (Crnogorcevic 82), Guijarro, Maria Leon, Ouahabi (Melanie 82); Bonmati, Hamraoui, Alexia (c) (Losada 71); Graham Hansen (Mariona 62), Hermoso (Oshoala 71), MartensUnused subs Coll, Font, Laia Codina, Fernandez, VilamalaScorers Leupolz own goal 1, Alexia 14 (pen), Bonmati 21, Graham Hansen 36Booked Ouahabi 69

Referee Riem Hussein (Germany)