Kadeisha Buchanan exclusive: Chelsea defender on beating Barcelona, final step - ‘We can go up another level’

Sorry, can you repeat that please?

Kadeisha Buchanan laughs and confirms what she just said, and that the Zoom call did not indeed scramble her words.

“So we had the game on Wednesday against Aston Villa, then we had a day off on Thursday and then we came back in for training on Friday.”

Yes, you’re reading that right. Chelsea’s best performance of the season, shutting down European champions FC Barcelona in their own back yard with a switch in formation, was built in just one day’s worth of training.

“That Friday, it was a long, detailed session,” Buchanan tells TNT Sports in an exclusive interview before the second leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final against Barcelona on Saturday, live on TNT Sports and discovery+.

“We had the training session then we asked the questions that we needed to ask. And later on that night, we kind of went over the training session because you only had one day to prepare, so we went over it at the hotel and we got all the kinks out and then we all felt confident and ready to play.”

They were ready to play all right. Barcelona have scored 138 goals across Liga F and the Champions League this season. Chelsea limited them to one shot on target - one.

It is a remarkable testament to the preparation of manager Emma Hayes and her staff as well as the players and their ability.

“Yeah, I think we're proud of our performance, we know that we won't have the majority of the ball when we play a team like Barcelona,” Buchanan says.

“So I think defensively, we're very much in tuned and very aware and alert to each position in and out that they might try and come at us for a counter and when we have the ball we might lose it and they might go on a break that way.  

“So it’s important for us to be in the right positions at the right time, and just try to nullify them to the best of our abilities. And I think we did very well with that in the last game but I also think they will come out stronger. I think we kind of caught them off guard and so we got the jump on them but I think they’ll try something different in the return leg.”

OK but what about that switch to a back three?

“I just think it’s about having more numbers, essentially," she explains. "It sounds simple but the middle of the pitch is where the goal is and that is where a lot of their attacks can come from so it just nullifies space for them in that area and I feel like during the game once they got a shot off, it was blocked, we could get to the rebound, even if they pass around the first player the second player was coming in for the tackle.  

“So I think definitely having three centre-backs to occupy those spaces in and around the box can limit their chances. That's what we hope for and I think that's what happened. 

“As a defensive unit, we know a bit about what being in the backline entails and who steps out versus who's not versus who's in cover etc. So I think we didn't have a lot of time to practice because we obviously had a game that week. But I think we're all world-class players and we understand the game very well. I'm not saying it was easy, but I think we all knew what we had to do.”

It might be a bit of an overstatement but this was a huge game for Chelsea. A few months ago people were talking about the outgoing Hayes signing off in style with an unprecedented quadruple. Then before you knew it they had lost the final of the Conti Cup to Arsenal and then were dumped out of the FA Cup by Manchester United.

Last week, TNT Sports talked to Johanna Rytting Kaneryd who said that she felt that the mentality within the club meant that the team were not shaken by those losses.

Buchanan echoed those thoughts.

“I think, even going back to the games that we lost, we always felt like we had opportunities to score," she says. "Yeah, we lost but I feel like we were in the fight the whole time. So it kind of felt bad losing but I also felt like when we were losing, we were so in control of the game, and so confident that this goal was going to go in so.

"So coming into the first leg against Barca, I don't think a lot of confidence was lost, because I felt like in each game, we were in it to the end and it was just a matter of time until we were going to score. 

“Of course unfortunately, we didn’t but that's what our mentality was, even if you go down a goal, there's no pressure, there's no stress that the game is over.  

“So going into this tie it’s just confidence in each other and I think because we've been in this position many times. And I feel like we're answering those questions after those two back-to-back cup losses, Also I think the Champions League is the one that we truly, ultimately want. So we're going to bring a different energy to those games.“

In that interview last week, Rytting Kaneryd spoke about how she felt last season - when these two sides also met in the Champions League semi-finals with Barcelona coming out 2-1 on aggregate - that the Blues gave their opponents too much respect.

Buchanan believes that the real challenge Chelsea can present to Barcelona is by keeping the ball away from them and putting their defensive unit under pressure.

She also believes that the pressure on Barcelona is probably a bit greater because Chelsea are more of the chasers, at least in Europe.

“I want to say that some of it can be down to the fact that it is just a different team to last year, there are different players on the field," she says.

“But I think the mentality has kind of stayed the same, we're going out there to win the game. We know their strengths, we know their weaknesses, we know that they're going have a lot of possession but what Barcelona don’t like is when teams take the ball off them, they're not used to defending.  

“So I think once they're not used to defending that's an opportunity for when we have the ball, let's try to keep it let's try to move it and let's even try to go on the counter. So I think they're a team that has most of the ball, but when they don't have the ball, it's something new for them. So for us, we need to take advantage of that. 

“I feel when you're a team that has a lot of success, and a lot of success on the highest level, which is the Champions League, people are going to expect a lot from you, let's say in Barcelona, who have won the Champions League a couple of times and they’ve been to the final a lot of times as well. Obviously, their expectation is that they’re going to make it to the final. 

“They know it's not going to be easy, but they still have that expectation that they've been here before and they've had a lot of success.  

“And for us, even on a club level, like if we're playing a WSL game there's a target on our back, so we know how that expectation but in the Champions League we're just coming in and trying to disrupt their flow and obviously get results so it’s a different position. But I think for us, we feel that we are ready to go to that next level and go into the final.”

Getting to that final means putting the tie to bed in the second leg and not allowing Barca to come back into the game.

Buchanan was already bringing out the mind games when it comes to possible Chelsea formations because of the curveball they threw at Barcelona in the first game.

“They're going to come up with a new solution for sure, but maybe we come up with a new solution [laughs], so who knows? They might think, ‘oh they’re going to go with five again’ but maybe we change it up, they don't know.  

"I think it's more of the end game where changes will really influence things and how can we nullify them? Or how can we threaten their backline based off of our formation or their formation?  

“So I think that's going to be the key, everyone's going to go back to watching the first game, and trying to work out what can we do? What can we do better? So I know they're going to come up with different plans such as going direct. 

“But I think for us, we only had one day to learn this formation. So now we have many days to master this formation if we decide to go with it again so I think we're going to get better in what we do as well, because we have that break to get better. So I think this is interesting for us, because we have been in a space where we can play the same team a week apart, and there's no games in between, we don’t get that opportunity very often.

“So I think we can go up to another level and I know they're going to go up to another level so I think there's just a great game in the offing.”

And what if that game is in front of a packed Stamford Bridge, something that Hayes has called for.

“I think it'd be massive, I think it'd be super exciting to play at Stamford Bridge with a sold out crowd, I think it'd be unreal vibes," she says.

“For example going to Arsenal when it’s at the Emirates and they're sold out. It's a bit of extra tension, it's not easy to go in to their domain and try to win.  

“I think we need to create that atmosphere for us because it's a really important game and I think that kind of crowd can be a little bit intimidating, you can't lie.  

“But it's also exciting and fun to be playing in that environment, even as the opposition but when stuff is not going your way, and the crowd is on you, it can add extra stress, or it can get into your head maybe a little bit more. 

“So for that to be on our side this time, I think it will help us tremendously so hopefully we get that sold out crowd and it'd be super exciting.”

Chelsea will be hoping to feed off that kind of energy as they bid to reach the final for just the second time in their history.

You can watch it all unfold live on TNT Sports and discovery+.

TNT Sports presents the premium live sports rights previously carried by BT Sport including the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League, Gallagher Premiership Rugby, Investec Champions Cup, EPCR Challenge Cup, MotoGP, Cricket, UFC, Boxing and WWE. The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment in one destination. You can also watch TNT Sports through BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media