Roman Abramovich arrived in Gothenburg less than an hour before kick-off. The Chelsea owner had flown in especially to watch the Blues compete in their third Champions League final. This time it was the club's women's side he was supporting.
It was yet another sign of Abramovich's passion for the club he has owned for close to two decades. The Russian has enjoyed the highest of highs with the men's team and is determined to help the women's side become a dominant force at European level.
"[It's] a critical part of Chelsea and shapes who we are as a club," Abramovich explained in a rare interview with Forbes in March. "I see no reason why clubs wouldn’t want to support women’s football and provide the best possible opportunity for them to succeed.
"For me, this is both about the principle, but, also, women’s football has huge potential. If women’s football received the same level as support as men’s football, the sport would obviously be equally successful on the business side.”
“And I think investment pays off. I think their success demonstrates what can be achieved when you dedicate resources and the right leadership. Emma Hayes has been remarkable in her work with the team."
Abramovich is spot on with that last point especially. Hayes has helped transform Chelsea's women's side since taking over in 2012.
She has made the Blues perennial winners in domestic competitions and guided them further than any other English club in the UEFA Women's Champions League (in its current guise).
That it went so wrong for the Blues so quickly in Gothenburg will hurt. Barcelona killed the final off inside the opening 45 minutes; that isn't what Hayes' team is about, they've proved that in the Women's Super League and throughout the Champions League this term.
The occasion got to her players. It happens. This was only Chelsea's fifth Champions League campaign and their first final. Painful lessons will have been learned.
"We will learn from this because it's the next step up," Hayes told BT Sport after the game. "I said to the players to look at the scoreboard, that's got to be a motivating factor when they come back into pre-season. This will stay with them over the summer.
"The players will improve and grow. I have a quiet dressing room right now but they're all really proud of what we've put in.
"And we have won the double, it's not like we're trophyless. I'm just gutted we didn't get the chance to make a game of it."
Barcelona were simply too good for Chelsea on the night. They raced into a three-goal lead inside 14 minutes and went in at half time having added another to their tally.
Yet rewind two years and the Spanish side were in exactly the same position Hayes and her players found themselves in at the interval in Sweden – Barcelona went on to be beaten 4-1 by Lyon in the 2019 Women's Champions League final.
Lluís Cortes' side regrouped after that defeat, came back stronger. Chelsea can do the same, especially as they're backed by the deep pockets of Abramovich.
The Blues invested a world-record fee for a women's player – believed to be in the region of £250,000 – in Pernille Harder last year. Whether a repeat outlay is committed to this summer remains to be seen.
The squad will be improved, though: Lauren James, sister of men's team star Reece, is expected to complete a move from Manchester United in the coming weeks. Further additions are likely.
Hayes has worked incredibly hard over the past nine years to get her side to this point. That they fell short will not faze her. It will motivate her, make her only more determined. You sense the same could be said for Abramovich, a man who does not enjoy losing on any stage.
"He [Abramovich] came in to see us and all the girls were very quick to tell him, 'we’ll be back here'," Hayes told reporters in his post-match press conference.
It would be unwise to back against them doing exactly that next season.
