Chelsea went into this evening's game at Stamford Bridge with a one-goal advantage from the first leg. Yet that was wiped out midway through the opening 45 minutes when Aitana Bonmati's deflected strike found the bottom corner.

The tie remained finely poised heading into the second period but, just before the hour mark, Buchanan was shown a second yellow card and then a red after a challenge on Patri Guijarro. The ball was won and there was minimal contact on the Barcelona midfielder.

Hayes's side defended well but, with 15 minutes to play, Bonmati tumbled in the penalty area under pressure, a penalty was awarded, and Fridolina Rolfo converted from 12 yards to seal Barcelona's route to the final.

'If we lose, we lose, I can take it,' said Hayes after our elimination. 'I genuinely can. It’s just really tough to take this one – not because it’s a semi-final and a sell-out – but because Kadeisha has been shown a second yellow for a challenge that wasn’t even a foul.

'I looked at the fourth official and said surely that will be checked. She said it can’t because it's a yellow card. The toughest thing to take is that we didn’t lose it – there is nothing you can do when such a decision happens.

'It’s already hard enough because they are a top team and when that’s taken out of your hands, it's such a tough one for the players.

‘I’m gutted for them. I genuinely believe we were on top of the game. We had hit the post and I felt the momentum going in our direction, but we didn’t have the chance to experience that.'

For Hayes, the game was her last in the Chelsea dugout at Stamford Bridge. That she experienced it in front of 39,398 supporters – a first-ever sell-out for a women's game – is a source of pride but she doesn't want the feat to be a one-off.

'The crowd were fantastic, they really were,' she said. 'They drove the team on, particularly in the second half. I felt their energy and I felt the momentum in the game changing [before the red card] with their help.

'I hope they return in the future because there are many people here who have put a lot of effort into today. For me, the most important thing is that they keep coming back because, hopefully, we will keep being in these positions in the future.’