Chelsea hold firm to beat Real Madrid in nervy five-goal battle

Sonia Bompastor was made to sweat for her maiden UEFA Women’s Champions League victory as Chelsea boss, with the Women’s Super League side winning 3-2 against Real Madrid at a sodden Stamford Bridge.

Bompastor, who twice won the UWCL trophy as a player before leading Lyon to European glory as manager in 2021, continued her perfect start as Chelsea boss with a third consecutive win.

Sjoeke Nusken kicked off the scoring before Guro Reiten netted a penalty to establish a two-goal cushion. Alba Redondo pegged Chelsea back before half-time, but Mayra Ramirez was on hand to restore the comfortable lead shortly after the break.

Real substitute Linda Caicedo forced a grand-stand finish, tapping home six minutes from time to cut Chelsea’s lead back to the solitary goal, but The Blues held on to ensure a winning start to their European endeavour.

Chelsea, who only named seven substitutes due to a number of key absences, had to deal with the late withdrawal of goalkeeper Hannah Hampton, with DAZN citing illness for the goalkeeper ahead of the match – but did not let the turbulent build-up disrupt their flow as they took the lead within two minutes.

Johanna Rytting Kaneryd worked a large pocket of space on the right, before flashing an irresistible ball into the box that was turned in by Nusken, helped by the head of Real defender Sheila Garcia.

Reiten netted from the spot on 27 minutes after Lucy Bronze was hauled down in the area, but the hosts’ lead was cut in half six minutes before the break when Redondo found time and space to eventually squirm an effort under Zecira Musovic.

And Ramirez put Chelsea one step closer to victory eight minutes after the interval, looping a headed effort over Misa from Lauren James’ spectacular cross.

Substitute Caicedo tapped home six minutes from time to make for a nervy finish, but Bompastor’s side held on to take all three points.

A lot of talk around Bompastor’s succession of former Chelsea boss Emma Hayes revolved around whether she could bring the elusive Women’ Champions League trophy to west London, a feat not achieved by their previous legendary manager.

And while the ex-Lyon boss would have liked a more comfortable evening at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday, Chelsea’s battling qualities were firmly on show as they held firm despite a number of key absences to the squad.

Sam Kerr, Sophie Ingle, Niamh Charles and Mia Fishel are long-term absentees for Bompastor’s side, while Kadeisha Buchanan was missing through suspension against Real. Furthermore, Erin Cuthbert and Catarina Macario were out of the squad for the UWCL opener, while goalkeeper Hampton was replaced by Musovic ahead of kick-off after being “taken ill” – according to DAZN.

Cutting out the defensive mistakes for Real’s two goals is a must for Bompastor, but considering the reported sickness bug in the Chelsea camp, along with some tricky conditions through a heavy downpour in the first half, the hosts’ fighting spirit was commendable.

The ability to grind out a win is a quality you feel Chelsea will need to display if they are to break their UWCL duct. They now have a manager who has been there and done it (twice as a player, once as a manager), could this be their year for European glory?

Nusken was officially credited with the opening goal, glancing a header towards the far corner before Garcia helped it into the net with a header of her own. The midfielder’s instinctual presence in the box to get on the end of Kaneryd’s cross was impressive, and she displayed commanding qualities in the centre of the park throughout the evening.

Nusken, now in her second season at the WSL club, has enjoyed a solid start to the 2024/25 campaign and was a livewire in the Chelsea midfield as – despite conceding two sloppy goals – they largely controlled the game against their Liga F opposition.

Chelsea: Musovic 6, Bronze 7, Bright 6, Bjorn 6, Bompastor 6, Kaptein 6, Nusken 8*, James 7, Kaneryd 7, Ramirez 7, Reiten 7.Subs: Beever-Jones 5, Hamano 5, Jean-Francois 5, Lawrence 5, Mpome 5.

Real Madrid: Misa 4, Garcia 4, Lakrar 5, Mendez 6, Carmona 7, Abelleira Duenas 6, Angeldal 5, Leupolz 6, Del Castillo 5, Weir 6, Redondo 7. Subs: Caicedo 6, Feller 5, Navarro 6, Hernandez 5, Moller 5.

2′ GOAL! CHELSEA 1-0 REAL MADRID (NUSKEN) Wow! Chelsea make a statement of intent and the ball is in the back of the net within two minutes. Johanna Rytting Kaneryd found acres of space down the right, and cut in onto her left foot before delivering a peach of a cross. Sheila Garcia tries to deal with it, but can only head into the far corner of her own net after Sjoeke Nusken glances one towards the far corner as Bompastor’s side get off the mark in Europe.

5′ CHELSEA GOALKEEPER SWITCH The hosts’ thumping start barely gave me a chance to update you on their pre-match switch in goal, as Hannah Hampton pulled up in the warm-up and is replaced by Zecira Musovic.

27′ GOAL! CHELSEA 2-0 REAL MADRID (REITEN) The No. 11 slots it away nicely and Chelsea double their lead! Misa guesses correctly, down to her low right, but Reiten’s strike is too good and slips nicely into the bottom corner. Bompastor’s side firmly in control.

39′ GOAL! CHELSEA 2-1 REAL MADRID (REDONDO) A good move from the visitors and they have one back before the break! Bronze lets her guard down as Carmona gets the better of the former Barca defender down the left flank. Del Castillo has a pop but sees her effort blocked, the ball ricochets towards Garcia who tries to shape an effort but again sees it blocked by a staunch Chelsea back-line. The hosts are helpless to the ricochet once again, and this time Redondo finds the space to squeeze an effort under Musovic and halve the deficit. Game on!

53′ GOAL! CHELSEA 3-1 REAL MADRID (RAMIREZ) Are Chelsea out of sight? Ramirez takes the glory with the header, but the magic was in the boots of Lauren James who set it up with a fantastic cross. James took aim before whipping in a delightful ball, perfectly placed onto the head of Ramirez, who looped an effort over Misa to restore the two-goal cushion. There may well be some questions over the goalkeeping there, the trajectory of the header seemed to take the Real shot-stopper by suprise. Ramirez won’t mind!

84′ GOAL! CHELSEA 3-2 REAL MADRID (CAICEDO) Wow, a simple Chelsea victory seemed the foregone conclusion with the hosts looking comfortable, but Real have just set up a grand-stand finish at Stamford Bridge. Weir orchestrated the attack, spraying it out to Navarro, whose effort was blocked on the line by Bronze. However, Caicedo was there to mop up the aftermath. Game on, once again!