The 2021 UEFA Women's Champions League Final was the final match of the 2020–21 UEFA Women's Champions League, the 20th season of Europe's premier women's club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 12th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Women's Cup to the UEFA Women's Champions League. It was played at Gamla Ullevi in Gothenburg, Sweden on 16 May 2021,[5][6] between English club Chelsea and Spanish club Barcelona. Due to local restrictions in Sweden caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the match was played behind closed doors.[7] By advancing to the final, Chelsea became the first club to see its men's and women's teams reach the Champions League final in the same season, having also qualified for the UEFA Champions League final.
 Match programme cover | |||||||
| Event | 2020–21 UEFA Women's Champions League | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| Date | 16 May 2021 | ||||||
| Venue | Gamla Ullevi, Gothenburg | ||||||
| Player of the Match | Aitana Bonmatí (Barcelona)[1] | ||||||
| Referee | Riem Hussein (Germany)[2] | ||||||
| Attendance | 0[note 1] | ||||||
| Weather | Cloudy night 12 °C (54 °F) 87% humidity[3][4] | ||||||
Barcelona won the match 4–0 for their first Champions League title. In doing so, they became the first club to have won both men's and women's UEFA Champions League titles – its men's team won the Champions League five times; it was a record Chelsea was also seeking. It was also the largest margin of victory in any single-legged UEFA Women's Champions League Final.[8]
Teams
editIn the following table, finals until 2009 were in the UEFA Women's Cup era, since 2010 were in the UEFA Women's Champions League era.
| Team | Previous finals appearances (bold indicates winners) |
|---|---|
 Chelsea
|
None |
 Barcelona
|
1 (2019) |
Venue
edit
This was the first UEFA club competition final hosted at Gamla Ullevi, and the first hosted in the city of Gothenburg since the 2004 UEFA Cup Final at the Nya Ullevi. The stadium previously hosted matches at UEFA Women's Euro 2013 and the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.[9]
Host selection
editAn open bidding process was launched on 28 September 2018 by UEFA to select the venues of the finals of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, and UEFA Women's Champions League in 2021. Associations had until 26 October 2018 to express interest, and bid dossiers must be submitted by 15 February 2019.
UEFA announced on 1 November 2018 that two associations had expressed interest in hosting the 2021 UEFA Women's Champions League final.[10] and on 22 February 2019 that one association submitted their dossier by the deadline.[11]
| Country | Stadium | City | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
 Sweden |
Gamla Ullevi | Gothenburg | 16,600 |
The Czech Football Association expressed interest in nominating Sinobo Stadium in Prague but eventually did not submit a bid.
Gamla Ullevi was selected by the UEFA Executive Committee during their meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan on 29 May 2019.[12][5]
Route to the final
editNote: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).
| Chelsea
|
Round | Barcelona
| ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opponent | Agg. | 1st leg | 2nd leg | Knockout phase | Opponent | Agg. | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
 Benfica
|
8–0 | 5–0 (A) | 3–0 (H) | Round of 32 |  PSV
|
8–2 | 4–1 (A) | 4–1 (H) |
| Atlético Madrid
|
3–1 | 2–0 (H) | 1–1 (A)[a] | Round of 16 |  Fortuna Hjørring
|
9–0 | 4–0 (H) | 5–0 (A) |
 VfL Wolfsburg
|
5–1 | 2–1 (H)[b] | 3–0 (A)[b] | Quarter-finals | Manchester City
|
4–2 | 3–0 (H)[c] | 1–2 (A) |
| Bayern Munich
|
5–3 | 1–2 (A) | 4–1 (H) | Semi-finals |  Paris Saint-Germain
|
3–2 | 1–1 (A) | 2–1 (H) |
Notes
- ^ The round of 16 second leg, in which Atlético Madrid were the administrative home team, was played at a neutral venue in Monza, Italy, due to travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic from the United Kingdom to Spain.[13]
- ^ a b Both legs of Chelsea's quarter-final against VfL Wolfsburg were played in Budapest due to travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic between Germany and the United Kingdom.[14]
- ^ The quarter-final first leg, in which Barcelona were the administrative home team, was played at a neutral venue in Monza, Italy, due to travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic from the United Kingdom to Spain.[14]
Pre-match
edit
Officials
editOn 4 May 2021, UEFA named German official Riem Hussein as the referee for the final. Hussein had been a FIFA referee since 2009, and previously officiated at UEFA Women's Euro 2017 and the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup. She was joined by her compatriot Katrin Rafalski and Sara Telek of Austria as assistant referees. Katalin Kulcsár of Hungary served as the fourth official, while Julia Magnusson of Sweden was the reserve assistant referee. Hussein's fellow countrymen Bastian Dankert and Christian Dingert worked as the video assistant referee and assistant VAR officials, respectively.[2]
Match
editDetails
editA draw was held on 12 March 2021, 12:00 CET (after the quarter-final and semi-final draws), at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland to determine which semi-final winner would be designated as the "home" team for administrative purposes.[15]
          Chelsea
|
    Barcelona
|
_2021-05-16.svg)
|
Player of the Match:
Assistant referees:[2]
|
|
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ a b The final was played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden.[7]
- ^ Each team was given only three opportunities to make substitutions, with a fourth opportunity in extra time, excluding substitutions made at half-time, before the start of extra time and at half-time in extra time.
References
edit- ^ a b "Women's Champions League final Player of the Match: Aitana Bonmati". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 16 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Referee team appointed for UEFA Women's Champions League final in Gothenburg". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 4 May 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
- ^ "Chelsea v Barcelona: Match info". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 16 May 2021. Archived from the original on 16 May 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
- ^ "Torslanda, Västra Götaland, Sweden Weather Conditions". Weather Underground. 16 May 2021. Archived from the original on 16 May 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
- ^ a b "Gothenburg to stage 2021 Women's Champions League final". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 29 May 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
- ^ "Dates, access list: Road to Gothenburg 2020/21". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 1 October 2019.
- ^ a b "2021 Women's Champions League final: Gamla Ullevi, Gothenburg". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 2 May 2021. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
Due to current restrictions implemented by the local authorities in Sweden, the UEFA Womens' [sic] Champions League final will be played behind closed doors and therefore no tickets will be on sale.
- ^ "Chelsea 0-4 Barcelona: Barça surge to first Women's Champions League title". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 16 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
- ^ "2021 Women's Champions League final: Gamla Ullevi, Gothenburg". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 9 September 2020.
- ^ "11 associations interested in hosting 2021 club finals". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 1 November 2018.
- ^ "9 associations bidding to host 2021 club finals". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 22 February 2019.
- ^ "UEFA Executive Committee agenda for Baku meeting". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 22 May 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
- ^ "Women's Champions League dates confirmed". Chelsea FC. 25 February 2021. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
- ^ a b "UEFA Women's Champions League venue changes". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 16 March 2021.
- ^ "Women's Champions League quarter-final and semi-final draw". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 12 March 2021.
- ^ "Regulations of the UEFA Women's Champions League, 2020/21". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 24 September 2020.
- ^ "Two triple-headers approved for 2021 March and September national team windows". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 24 September 2020. Retrieved 24 September 2020.