Barcelona held the semi-finals of the Women’s Champions League against Bayern

Barcelona played out a 1-1 draw against Bayern Munich in the fiery first leg of the Women’s Champions League semi-final on Saturday.

Ewa Pajor gave Barcelona the lead after eight minutes, but Franziska Kett leveled for the Germans halfway through the second half.

However, the Bayern defender turned from hero to villain towards the end when she was sent off for pulling Salma Paralluelo’s hair.

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Bayern coach Jose Barcala followed shortly after, receiving his marching orders to take to the pitch to protest the decision.

«A difficult situation. She absolutely did not do it on purpose,» Bayern’s Klara Buehl said about Kett’s appeal to broadcaster Disney.

«She intended to pull the jersey and without a doubt she would have deserved a yellow card for that. But her hair got in the way.»

Barcelona’s Alexia Putellas told TV3: «We are playing with home advantage. With the fans we will make ourselves strong… the people who come will give us a lot of energy.»

“We would like to be in the final again.”

The draw leaves everything to play for next Sunday in Spain, although the Germans will have to beat Barcelona on home ground without their coach and goalscorer in the first leg to reach a first-ever final.

Barcelona beat Bayern 7-1 when these teams met in October, but this time things were more evenly matched in front of 31,000 fans at the Allianz Arena in Munich.

Undisputed favorites Barcelona traveled to Munich hoping to qualify for a sixth consecutive final.

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Pinned back after the opening whistle, Bayern countered after seven minutes but Pernille Harder wasted her chance to catch the Catalans early.

Barcelona immediately punished the hosts when Pajor took advantage of a defensive error from Giulia Gwinn and scored a minute later.

Bayern grew into the match and Kett came close to equalizing just before half-time, forcing a desperate save from Cata Coll.

The visitor came close to doubling their lead on the hour mark when Patricia Guijarro beat the keeper, but Bayern defender Vanessa Gilles cleared the shot off the line.

Bayern continued to attack and were rewarded for their positivity when Kett struck with twenty minutes remaining.

Buehl charged down the right flank and cut the ball back for Kett to drive home.

Kett then left her team a player short for the final ten minutes after receiving a straight red card for pulling Paralluelo’s braids.

Barcelona laid siege to the home defense in the closing stages, but Bayern held on to stay level ahead of the second leg.

Published on April 26, 2026