Chelsea women held onto a 3-2 win against Real Madrid to maintain their three-year winning streak against them in the Champions League group stage.
The Blues raced into a two-goal lead courtesy of Sjoeke Nüsken and Guro Reiten inside the opening half an hour before Alba Redondo pulled a goal back for Real Madrid before half-time.
Mayra Ramirez restored Chelsea’s two goal advantage early in the second half before Madrid’s Linda Caicedo scored seven minutes from time to make it 3-2.
Chelsea had 57% possession throughout the game, though Real Madrid had more shots that were on target.
However, the London side were more clinical to score from their limited opportunities, something they lacked at the end of last season in the Champions League.
With this result, Chelsea women are currently 2nd in the table on goal difference, behind Twente, who they will face next, while Real Madrid will play Celtic in the other Group B game.
The Champions League is the only trophy that has eluded Chelsea women.
Hopes are high with new manager Sonia Bompastor, who has won the trophy as both a player and a coach.
Despite the victory, five-time Champions League winner Lucy Bronze was not convinced by her side’s performance and cast doubt on their European credentials.
She said: “Playing like that, we won’t win the competition.
“We gave up goals easily. We were the better team on the night.
“We possessed the ball well, and our goals were well taken – but we should have put them to bed early on when we were 3-1 up in the second half.”
“We were playing quite well, so we could have scored another and not let them back into the game.
“In the Champions League, when you let a team back in, they can punish you.”
Sunday’s Women’s Super League match against Manchester United was postponed due to players’ welfare, something which Chelsea boss Bompastor believed impacted preparation.
Bompastor said: “We have to play with a lot of intensity.
“I don’t want to find excuses, but maybe because we didn’t play for ten days, it can help you understand why tonight we were a little bit down.”
Hannah Hampton withdrew from the game with illness and was replaced by Zećira Mušović.
Bompastor said Hampton felt better at the end of the match but the Chelsea manager will be wary of any issues in her squad ahead of Saturday’s London derby away at Arsenal.
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