Magdalena Eriksson was speaking ahead of today’s massive European game for Chelsea Women, as we host Barcelona Femeni in front of what is set to be another record crowd at Stamford Bridge for the first leg of our Women’s Champions League semi-final.

Having already beaten the holders Lyon in the quarter-finals, Eriksson and her team-mates know they have another tough task ahead of them against a side which has won their last 60 consecutive league matches in Spain.

We have our own painful reminder of how good Barcelona can be, having lost 4-0 to them on our only previous appearance in the Champions League final in 2021, but Eriksson insists any thoughts of revenge are just a small part of her motivations going into today’s match.

‘That game is one of the motivations that we use, but just the fact that we are in a Champions League semi-final, I think that is motivation enough for us,’ she said.

‘This is the tournament for us that we’re extremely hungry for. The biggest motivation and the biggest focus is that it’s the Champions League semi-final. It’s an opportunity to reach the final and that’s our dream for the club, it’s our dream individually as players.

‘Of course the final two years ago, it motivates us, but just the fact that we’re in this game, it motivates us enough. The girls have had a really good training week and we can sense that it’s something special. The team is very together and very ready for this challenge.’

However, as painful as our loss in Gothenburg in 2021 may have been, Eriksson believes that experience, along with those which have come since, have made Chelsea a better team and more capable of handling a Barcelona side which has scored 35 goals in their eight Champions League games so far this season.

‘Barcelona have an amazing attacking line-up, whoever they choose to play,’ added the Swedish defender. ‘They have a lot of good options at the front, but we have absolutely improved at the back. We have improved in all phases of the pitch.

‘As a team we’ve grown in experience, we know what it takes to reach a final now, we know what it takes to play a final. We have learned from our experiences so hopefully today we can be really together as a team, defend together, do everything we can together, and we’ll see how far that takes us.

‘If you look at our year in the Champions League, we had an extremely hard, difficult group that we came out of on top, playing really tough games. We play extremely tough games domestically every single week, it feels like. And then coming from the Lyon win, against an amazing team who have won the tournament the most times, and we came away from there with a win.

‘So I think we’ve gained so much experience from this year, but it’s not been easy and that I think is also something good, because it shapes your character and it shapes your mentality as a team, that no matter where the game goes, whatever happens, we’re ready.’

Magdalena also discussed the contribution of our two Norwegian internationals, Maren Mjelde and Guro Reiten, who scored both our goals en route to a penalty shoot-out victory over Lyon in the last round of the Champions League.

Reiten got the only goal of the game in France, before Mjelde held her nerve to equalise from the spot in the eighth minute of added time at the end of extra time at Stamford Bridge, before slotting in our first penalty in the shoot-out.

‘They’re very good girls. I’m very happy for Maren to get the opportunity for her to show how important she is to the team and how important she has been to our team throughout the years. She is the one if I could pick one player that I would trust the most on the team.

‘It is her character. She is so experienced, she’s been through so much and she’s just a really nice person to have on the team.

‘Guro, with her qualities, I think this year she’s been amazing. She’s been outstanding for us, so important and such a consistent performer for our team.’

If Mjelde, Reiten or anyone else in Blue makes themselves a hero at the Bridge this afternoon, then it could be an even more special occasion than Eriksson is already anticipating.

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