Defending champ Barcelona routs Chelsea 4-1 to reach women's Champions League final

Defending champion Barcelona reached the women's Champions League final in dominant fashion on Sunday after winning 4-1 at Chelsea in their semifinal return leg to advance 8-2 on aggregate.

Slick Barcelona stayed on course for a third straight Champions League title and fourth overall, and will meet either record eight-time winner Lyon or Arsenal in the final.

They played their semifinal return leg in France later Sunday, with Lyon 2-1 up from the first leg. Lyon and Barcelona have met in the final in three of the past six seasons.

The final takes place on May 24 at Lisbon’s 50,000-capacity Estádio José Alvalade.

Barcelona took its goal tally in this season's competition to a whopping 44 and also recorded a ninth straight win.

Chelsea was overwhelmed 4-1 in the first leg and fell behind midway through the first half when Aitana Bonmatí scored a brilliant solo goal.

She picked up the ball inside her own half and broke down the right at pace before rifling a shot into the top right corner from just inside the penalty area.

Moments earlier, Chelsea midfielder Sjoeke Nüsken shot straight at goalkeeper Cata Coll from close range.

Barcelona went 2-0 up in the 41st minute when Caroline Graham Hansen found space down the right and picked out Poland captain Ewa Pajor with a fine cross.

Two minutes later, Clàudia Pina curled in a superb third from the left of the penalty area into the top right corner.

Tired defending allowed Salma Paralluelo to poke in the fourth goal in the last minute following a ball over the top.

Dutch midfielder Wieke Kaptein rifled in a stoppage-time consolation goal for Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Barca's success came the day after the men's team beat bitter rival Real Madrid to win the Copa del Rey.

The women's side is led by the flair and drive of two-time Ballon d’Or winners Alexia Putellas and Bonmatí. They have shared the last four awards and both scored in last year’s final against Lyon in front of a record crowd of 51,000.

Chelsea reached the final once, in 2021, but was routed 4-0 that day as Barca won its first title.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Chelsea's Catarina Macario reacts after a missed chance to score during the women's Champions League semifinals, second leg, soccer match between Chelsea FC and FC Barcelona at Stamford Bridge in London, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Dave Shopland)

Chelsea coach Sonia Bompastor shouts during the women's Champions League semifinals, second leg, soccer match between Chelsea FC and FC Barcelona at Stamford Bridge in London, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Dave Shopland)

Barcelona coach Pere Romeu, foreground center, reacts after Barcelona's Ewa Pajor scored her side's second goal during the women's Champions League semifinals, second leg, soccer match between Chelsea FC and FC Barcelona at Stamford Bridge in London, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Dave Shopland)

Chelsea's Erin Cuthbert and Keira Walsh, right, react after Barcelona's Ewa Pajor scored her side's second goal during the women's Champions League semifinals, second leg, soccer match between Chelsea FC and FC Barcelona at Stamford Bridge in London, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Dave Shopland)

Barcelona's Claudia Pina, left, is congratulated by Ewa Pajor after scoring her side's third goal during the women's Champions League semifinals, second leg, soccer match between Chelsea FC and FC Barcelona at Stamford Bridge in London, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Dave Shopland)

Barcelona's Aitana Bonmati celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the women's Champions League semifinals, second leg, soccer match between Chelsea FC and FC Barcelona at Stamford Bridge in London, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Dave Shopland)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.

Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.

Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”

Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”

Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”

He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”

Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.

In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.

Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”

Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.

“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.

The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.

The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.

Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.

In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)