Plan

It most likely was not the Chelsea debut Naomi Girma was anticipating.

The 24-year-old U.S. girls’s nationwide crew centre-back performed 59 minutes in Chelsea’s 2-2 draw with Brighton at Broadfield Stadium on Sunday, 32 days after she grew to become the .

Chelsea’s $1.1million (£870,000) signing of Girma from the San Diego Wave broke the world switch file however her debut was lower brief when the defender pointed to her calf earlier than limping off the pitch. A minor calf damage stored Girma out of america’ January camp and off Chelsea’s sport day squad till Sunday.

Final 12 months, Girma and her former aspect did not qualify for the postseason in November. She performed in USWNT’s friendlies in October and December however missed the 2 most up-to-date U.S. camps with the identical calf problem. It might have been unlikely for her to have performed the total match on Sunday given the day off, however how she was substituted didn’t appear preplanned.

Within the 56th minute, Girma attracted the eye of the Chelsea bench earlier than pointing to her left calf. As play continued, she ultimately sat down on the pitch the place she was seen by the membership physios earlier than being substituted for Nathalie Bjorn.

“We might want to assess her tomorrow,” stated Chelsea head coach Sonia Bompastor in her post-match press convention. “It doesn’t look too unhealthy however we are going to most likely must have a scan tomorrow.”

Chelsea nonetheless leads the Ladies’s Tremendous League (WSL) with 41 factors, 5 factors forward of Manchester United in second.

If Girma moved to England to expertise new opposition, she was disadvantaged of that in her first match as she lined up throughout from former Stanford teammate Madison Haley. It was a feisty, bodily battle that pushed Girma to the restrict, as eventual Participant of the Match Haley received the higher of her on a handful of events.

It isn’t shocking that Girma has not but readjusted to the bodily calls for of the sport, having not performed for a membership since October 2024 or the U.S. since December 2024. The frustration for Chelsea can be that they had been unable to get the perfect of her on the ball on Sunday.

Bompastor repeatedly emphasised in January that her need to recruit one other centre again stemmed from desirous to play with a again three formation. She used Girma’s return to health to do this instantly: Girma on the left, Millie Vibrant within the center and Lucy bronze on the suitable.

This was an enormous tactical change for Chelsea — one which can have been an excessive amount of to ask of a crew coming back from worldwide responsibility and battling accidents to key gamers. Add in the truth that Girma was making her debut and Bronze just isn’t a centre again by commerce, and it was hardly stunning that Chelsea’s defence regarded in disarray.

With Chelsea struggling to construct out from the again towards an aggressively-pressing Brighton crew, Girma had little alternative to indicate what she might do on the ball. Her rating in crew statistics was influenced by the actual fact she performed just below an hour however her passing numbers (above) had been far beneath what would have been anticipated. A number of components might have influenced that, together with the effectivity of Haley’s press; the sturdy relationship between the England trio of Vibrant, Bronze, and Keira Walsh; the unfamiliarity of Girma within the again line; or a mixture of all of those.

“She’s studying concerning the league, studying concerning the crew, her team-mates,” Bompastor stated. “The primary sport is at all times a sport the place it’s by no means straightforward as a result of it’s a aggressive league. Her opponent (Haley) had an excellent sport however she’s studying about every little thing. It was good for us to have her begin this sport, construct minutes and play with the crew.”

Nevertheless, Chelsea spent $1m on Girma to win video games together with her now, so that they might want to resolve these points rapidly or threat not getting the perfect out of her.

“I’m not fearful about it. It’s by no means straightforward to start out with new team-mates in a brand new league with a distinct context,” Bompastor stated. “It takes time. She must construct up and I’m assured that she has lots of high quality and we are going to get there.”

There isn’t any cause for Chelsea followers to panic. Girma’s high quality stays and it’ll present itself in some unspecified time in the future. However the mixture of a niggling damage and a slate of essential matches developing rapidly means the stress is on for Bompastor to resolve precisely how her defence seems.

This text initially appeared in .

US Ladies’s nationwide crew, Chelsea, San Diego Wave, NWSL, UK Ladies’s Soccer

2025 The Athletic Media Firm