Chelsea reached the Women’s Champions League semi-finals as they handsomely beat two-time winners Wolfsburg 5-1 on aggregate in their quarter-final.
Pernille Harder and Sam Kerr were on target again, with Fran Kirby also scoring in a 3-0 second leg win a week after they had edged the first leg 2-1.
They will face either Bayern Munich or Rosengard from Sweden in the last four.
Harder netted a first-half penalty and Kerr fired home a second shortly after, before Kirby slotted a late third.
Two goals in the space of four first-half minutes in Hungary put Emma Hayes’ side out of sight as they booked a place in the semi-finals for a third time.
It also saw them avenge their 2018 Champions League semi-final defeat by the same opponents and secure just their second win in eight meetings with Wolfsburg.
Harder and Kerr strike again
The Germans started the stronger of the two sides in the warm sunshine at the Szusza Ferenc Stadium in Budapest, looking for a goal that would have levelled the tie on aggregate.
But the deadlock was broken after Australia striker Kerr was adjudged to have been tripped just inside the penalty area by Wolfsburg centre-back Sara Doorsoun-Khajeh as she raced on to Harder’s ball over the top.
Former Wolfsburg forward Harder, who scored her side’s second goal last Wednesday, stepped up and sent the goalkeeper the wrong way from the spot to give Chelsea a 3-1 aggregate lead and an away goal.
They were handed a huge let-off moments later when Ewa Pajor missed a glorious chance to level the second leg from just five yards out. She raced in at the back post to meet Fridolina Rolfo’s ball from the left across the six-yard box, but saw her outstretched effort go wide when it looked easier to hit the target.
Chelsea’s relief was even greater as Kerr doubled their lead just a minute later with her 20th goal of the season and second of the tie.
Sophie Ingle’s delicate ball into the area was chested down by Kerr before she turned Doorsoun-Khalej and fired a low right-foot shot into the net.
Kirby adds the gloss
Chelsea continued to control the game after the break despite perhaps expecting a Wolfsburg resurgence.
Their composure and patience was rewarded inside the last 10 minutes when they broke forward and exploited space at the back.
Moments after coming off the bench, Ji So-Yun laid on a perfect through ball for Kirby to slot home under the body of Wolfsburg keeper Katarzyna Kierdrzynek.
While the Blues arguably rode their luck in the first leg, the second was more cruise control.
Goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger kept another clean sheet as she denied Zsanett Jakabfi a consolation with a couple of smart saves in injury time.
Chelsea are likely to face German opposition again at the end of April, with Bayern holding a 3-0 first leg lead over Rosengard. The second leg kicks off at 18:00 BST on Thursday.
The semi-finals will be staged on 24-25 April and 1-2 May, with the final set to take place in Gothenburg, Sweden, on 16 May.
