It was not totally smooth sailing in this second leg for a much-changed selection. Both sides caused problems for their opponents and in Chelsea’s case, a couple in the first half were of our own making, one leading to the ball brushing our woodwork with the score still 0-0.

However, while the Blues would have liked to be in more control of the game defensively, we had a goal threat of our own and Ramirez was able to settle nerves before half-time with a composed finish. She had been set away one-on-one with Ajax keeper Regina van Eijk by a Guro Reiten pass.

Ajax levelled on the night midway through the second half when Chasity Grant escaped the Blues defence and beat Zecira Musovic.

The Chelsea goalie later atoned for earlier errors with two sharp saves to deny Ajax victory on the night and although the team performance had at times been scrappy, the first leg cushion eased the tension. The Blues had done enough.

We now play either reigning European champions Barcelona or Norwegian side Brann.

Ajax have chances

Though 3-0 up from the first leg in Amsterdam, Emma Hayes had warned that the state of the tie meant the Dutch side would play with more freedom in this second meeting, and would have a go at Chelsea.

We had however progressed in all 11 previous European ties when we had won the first leg.

Ajax captain Sherida Spitse, back from her first-leg suspension, looped a header onto the roof of the Chelsea net in the early moments, and there was an escape when our opponents could not make the most of a wayward pass out of her area from Musovic. The Sweden international goalkeeper was one of seven changes made by Hayes from the weekend WSL game.

Another of those brought in – Erin Cuthbert – shot wide with the first Chelsea chance, made by skilful wing-play from Aggie Beever-Jones.

Ajax continued to live up to their billing from Hayes as dangerous opponents when their main goalscorer, Romee Leuchter, rolled Kadeisha Buchanan and hooked a shot just wide. Then came a really big let-off!

Musovic’s shaky start with her feet continued when she came out of the penalty area to clear but only blasted her attempt into close-by Ajax forward Tiny Hoekstra, leaving her to watch with great concern as the ball headed back towards her goal. To great Chelsea relief, it skimmed the outside of the post on its way wide.

Midway through the half it was the Blues’ turn to go close. Beever-Jones again made in-roads before Guro Reiten flashed a shot past the far post.

Mayra makes the breakthrough

Ramirez then looked to have put Beever-Jones through for a one-v-one finish but the youngster slightly over-ran the ball and the opportunity evaporated. There was proving to be no shortage of incidents to keep the Stamford Bridge crowd enthralled.

With just over half-an-hour played, they had something major to cheer. Chelsea’s battling qualities won the ball in the Ajax half and from then on it was beautifully simple. Reiten played Ramirez in behind the defence and the Colombian finished through the goalie’s legs – 1-0 on the night and 4-0 in the tie.

The January-signed striker would have had a second goal before half-time had she made a better connection on a Beever-Jones cross.

Lead let slip

Musovic made the first save of the second half before Chelsea began pushing for an extended lead with Beever-Jones seeing plenty of the ball. Such was the 20-year-old’s influence that Ajax had changed their left-back at half-time.

However it was Ajax who found the net. A Hoekstra pass split the Chelsea defence and although Musovic got a hand to Grant’s shot, she could not keep it out. The second-leg scores were level with 65 minutes played.

While the Chelsea goalkeeper might have been questioned for her part in the conceding of that equaliser, there was no doubting the positive impact she made 10 minutes from the end, when pulling off a brilliant save to keep out a rocket from Leuchter who had turned inside Jess Carter, and then making another quality save to push wide a curler from Danique Tolhoek.

What it means

It is now five times out of five that Chelsea have progressed from the quarter-finals of the Champions League into the last-four stage. We await to see whom our opponents will be with the team we played a year ago, Barcelona, 2-1 up ahead of their home second leg against Brann. That match takes place tomorrow evening.

What’s next?

We go from European competition straight into a domestic showpiece with Sunday serving up our fifth appearance in a League Cup final. The match is a re-run of last year’s final against local rivals Arsenal with the stage this season Wolverhampton’s Molineux Stadium. Kick-off is 3pm.

Chelsea Musovic; Perisset, Buchanan (Nusken 66), Carter, Lawrence; Ingle, Cuthbert (c); Beever-Jones (Rytting Kaneryd 76), Kirby, Reiten (Cankovic 66); Ramirez (Macario 66)
Unused subs Berger, Hampton, Charles, Leupolz, James
Scorer Ramirez 33
Booked Perisset 90+2

Ajax Van Eijk; Kardinaal (Verhoeve 76), Spitse, De Sanders (Tolhoek 87), De Klonia (Keijzer h-t); Noordam, Van Gool, Van de Velde (Noordman 68); Grant, Leuchter, T. Hoekstra (Keukelaar 68)
Unused subs Nienhuis, Van der Wal, I Hoekstra, B Jansen, Sabajo
Scorer Grant 65

Referee Tess Olofsson from Sweden