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WHAT HAPPENED?
Sonia Bompastor’s side opened their Champions League group stage with a 3-2 win on Tuesday, but their performance was less than convincing. Real Madrid had multiple opportunities to get back into the game, and Bronze believes Chelsea should have put the game to bed after Mayra Ramirez made it 3-1 to the hosts early in the second half.
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Getty Images SportTHE BIGGER PICTURE
The Blues are still getting to grips with Bompastor’s tactics after the former Lyon coach’s arrival in the summer. The French coach boasts an impressive record in the European competition, having won it twice as a player and once as manager of Lyon in 2021-22, and she will be hoping her expertise can inspire Chelsea to win the tournament for the first time.
WHAT BRONZE SAID
“It’s a good start but playing like that we won’t win the competition,” Bronze said after the win. “We gave up goals easily. We were the better team on the night, we possessed the ball in spells really well and our goals were really 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.”
The defender added: “Both playing for and against Chelsea, I know there is the talent and the competitiveness to win the Champions League [in the squad]. This team has beaten the best teams in Europe in Barcelona and Lyon, and I think this year we are going to have improved on last year.
“We are poised to push on, we need to improve a lot on tonight but we are in a good position and I think by the end of the season we will be in a really good place.”
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Chelsea hadn’t played a competitive fixture in 10 days leading into the Real Madrid match, which Bompastor believes contributed to her side being sluggish at times.
“We have to play with a lot of intensity. I don’t want to find excuses but maybe because we didn’t play for 10 days, it’s something that can help you understand why tonight we were a little bit down,” she said.
“We scored the two goals but the players were not working as hard as I wanted them to work on the pitch. When we had the ball we were just walking to get the ball which is not enough. If you want to possess the ball, you have to run a lot.
“When you begin the game with two goals, it’s good to keep that result. We conceded two goals where we maybe could have done better. We were a bit nervous about Madrid getting stronger. I would like us to manage the game better.”
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Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT FOR CHELSEA?
Chelsea will now look ahead to a meeting with Arsenal in the Women’s Super League on October 12. The Blues won their opening two WSL matches, while Jonas Eidevall’s Arsenal are struggling for form after drawing two of their opening three league games.
