It was heartbreak at Stamford Bridge for Chelsea, as scores from Aitana Bonmatí and Fridolina Rölfo made the difference in West London to send Barcelona through to the UEFA Women’s Champions League Final on 2-1 aggregate.

A sold out Stamford Bridge piled through the turnstiles in West London, something that Hayes reflected on with the upmost amount of pride in her post match interview.

“Our crowd were tremendous. I have to thank them because they gave as much as they could to the team. They’re the best in the world for a reason. They had a strong first half.”

A controversial call that saw Kadeisha Buchanan receive her second yellow card for the evening meant that the Blues were down to ten, before a penalty was given to allow Rölfo the chance to slot home the winner.

Hayes labelled the sending off as “the worst decision in UEFA Women’s Champions League history“. Elaborating that she “didn’t think it was a foul, let alone a yellow card.”

Speaking on the officiating from Iuliana Demetrescu, Hayes further expressed her dismay toward the refereeing performance when saying “We didn’t feel like we had the opportunity to lose the game. That was taken away. I was surprised when this referee was selected for the game. She’s famous for easy cards.”

“I’m gutted for the players. We were robbed. We’d just hit the post. We could feel the momentum but didn’t have the chance to experience that.”

Addressing whether her side can take any positives away from the defeat, Hayes rebutted “How would you feel if you were us right now? Sad.”

Continuing she said “You just hope that you get into these positions. We lose, we lose- I can take it, I genuinely can. It’s just tough to take this one. Not because it’s a Semi Final and it’s a sell out, but I cannot believe Kadeisha has gotten a second yellow for that challenge that wasn’t even a foul. Beyond me.”

The Barclays Women’s Super League now remains the only chance at silverware for the Blues this season, as they turn their full attention toward a tight two-horse race with Manchester City in the domestic league.

Chelsea will be back in action on the 1st of May, as they travel to Prenton Park to face Liverpool in the Barclays Women’s Super League