Chelsea have booked their spot within the Girls’s Champions League quarter-finals with a convincing win over Celtic.
FC Twente dropped factors of their recreation vs Actual Madrid which meant {that a} win was all Chelsea wanted to safe their place within the knockout phases.
Objectives from Lucy Bronze and Wieke Kaptein within the first half, and a late penalty from Eve Perisset prolonged Chelsea’s successful streak to 11 and ensured that the Blues remained on prime of their UWCL group. Teen Lola Brown additionally made her Chelsea debut, a lot to the delight of the three,931 supporters at Stamford Bridge.
Listed here are 5 issues we realized from the sport:
Bompastor carrying on Emma Hayes’ legacy
Succeeding Emma Hayes appeared like an not possible process, however the brand new Chelsea supervisor has had a dream begin to life at Chelsea. Sonia Bompastor has now gained 11 video games in all competitions, taking her inside one win of equalling a report set by Emma Hayes. Chelsea face Manchester United subsequent within the WSL which presents an incredible alternative for the French supervisor to match that report and write her title in Chelsea historical past.
Qualification secured
Bompastor has efficiently crossed her first hurdle as Chelsea supervisor by securing her crew’s spot within the Champions League quarter-finals. Whereas qualification to the knockout phases was anticipated given Chelsea’s star-studded squad, it’s by no means assured and should be earned, as former supervisor Hayes discovered when her aspect did not get out of their group again within the 2021/22 season.
Lucy Bronze defies ageing
The England worldwide hasn’t been at her finest since becoming a member of Chelsea, with opponents particularly focusing on her in video games earlier within the season. Nonetheless, the 33-year-old is discovering her type once more, placing in her finest efficiency in a Chelsea shirt over the weekend towards Man Metropolis’s harmful assault, and scoring an acrobatic volley to open the scoring towards Celtic, a purpose that even left Father Time in disbelief.
Kaptein’s breakout season
Over the summer season, Chelsea misplaced the invaluable expertise of Melanie Leupolz and Sophie Ingle in midfield. Leupolz moved to Actual Madrid whereas Ingle suffered an unlucky ACL harm. Kaptein has been closely concerned within the midfield rotation since becoming a member of Chelsea this summer season, beginning all 4 Champions League video games and displaying a maturity nicely past her years each time she has placed on a Blue shirt. The 19-year-old scored her first Champions League purpose with a glancing header and is having fun with a breakout season at Chelsea.
Coping with out Buchanan
After beating Manchester Metropolis over the weekend, Bompastor revealed that Kadeisha Buchanan suffered a season-ending ACL harm. The Canadian centre-back has been Chelsea’s finest defender to date this season, and her absence will definitely be an enormous blow for the Blues. New signing Maelys Mpome stepped up and performed alongside captain Millie Brilliant tonight. The duo saved Celtic’s assault at bay, serving to their aspect preserve their first clear sheet of the UWCL marketing campaign. Whereas the skilled Nathalie Bjorn remained on the bench for this recreation, the Blues will want Mpome to step up when referred to as upon similar to she did as we speak.