Tright here used to be a second, in a while ahead of half-time, when Chelsea left wing-back Niamh Charles concept she had performed it. ‘It’ being escaping from one-on-one duel with Barcelona’s Caroline Graham Hansen on the umpteenth time of asking with the ball in her ownership. Charles skated freed from the ahead, who scrambled to stick on her toes in entrance of the dugouts, with all of the enthusiasm of a kid that had simply crushed their older sibling in a card sport for the primary time. Except it used to be a false alarm, the referee’s whistle halting Charles’ fee and pulling the ball again against the spot the place Graham Hansen used to be fouled by way of the England participant.
As within the first leg of Chelsea’s Champions League semi-final showdown with Barcelona, Charles’s flank briefly turned into the focus of Barcelona’s assault, leaving Chelsea captain Magda Eriksson brutally uncovered at the left-hand aspect of the again 3. It used to be a well-recognized tale. In the 2021 Champions League last, Barcelona left green full-backs Charles and Jess Carter of their wake as they scored 4 inside of 36 mins.
Two years later, within the first leg at Stamford Bridge, and Chelsea have been a function down inside of 4 mins. Graham Hansen used to be the architect, using against the brink of the field as Chelsea gamers stood off her, ahead of unleashing a depraved left-footed strike into the some distance nook. In distinction to the general, a cave in used to be staved off, however the gulf in school between the 2 aspects used to be greater than obvious.
At the Camp Nou, which started to heave from about quarter-hour in as lovers filtered in for the early kick-off on the finish of the running day, Graham Hansen used to be rampant and unsparing as he ravaged Chelsea’s left flank. The Norwegian ahead would put the ball at the back of the online early once more, within the 9th minute this time, having ducked in entrance of Charles to gather the ball left for her by way of Eriksson ahead of VAR dominated the hassle out for her having managed the ball. along with her arm within the procedure.
There used to be no halting the ahead although, who ahead of the 30 minutes mark would go away Charles at the flooring ahead of selecting out Marta Torrejon to fireplace over the bar.
Charles struggled, however there may also be little disgrace in suffering to comprise one of the vital absolute best wingers within the sport, one that is criminally underrated. That Graham Hansen hasn’t ever even made the short-list for the Ballon d’Or, frankly, makes a mockery of the award that bids to acknowledge the arena’s absolute best gamers. After she used to be disregarded from the checklist within the 12 months when Barcelona swaggered to that 4-0 Champions League last victory over Chelsea, the ahead felt the want to reply on Twitter, such used to be the noise over her absence.
“To everybody who’s questioning. It’s all excellent,” she said. “We won the treble and we are working our asses off to achieve this again. All that matters and the only thing that matters.
Also absent that year, 2022, was Aitana Bonmati, who is the metronome of the Barcelona attack and whose link up play with Graham Hansen against Chelsea was a highlight. It was fitting, then, that the goal that would put Barcelona two goals up in the tie, albeit with Chelsea getting one back through fellow Norwegian forward Guro Reiten, would come from the deadly Bonmati-Graham Hansen axis.
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Released by Mariona Caldentay, Bonmati’s deft first touch set her sweeping length of the Chelsea half, she played the ball through to Graham Hansen and the forward’s strike could only be cleared into the inside side netting by an overstretched Carter, with goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger beaten. Spaniard Alexia Putellas may be the crown jewel of a Barcelona side with a wealth of talent that has coped unerringly well with the loss of her sparkle following her ACL injury on the eve of the Euros last year, but it is the Norwegian Graham Hansen that is the driving force of Barcelona’s unstoppable wide play.
There are rumors that the golden woman of Norwegian girls’s soccer and the primary lady to win the Ballon d’Or, Ada Hegerberg, might be tempted clear of eight-time European champions, Lyon, by way of the Catalan membership. It could be a Galactico-style signing. In Graham Hansen although, who prolonged his contract with the Catalan membership in January till June 2026, Barcelona have a high quality Norwegian ahead deserving of a an identical highlight.
