New head coach Sonia Bompastor marked her first UWCL game in charge of the English champions with a narrow but important victory.
Chelsea could be forgiven for thinking it wasn't going to be their night on Tuesday. Injury, suspension and illness all left the Blues' bench looking light and lacking a goalkeeper, after Lionesses star Hannah Hampton had to pull out of Sonia Bompastor's starting XI in the warm-up. But once things got underway at Stamford Bridge, that luck started to even out as the hosts kicked off their Champions League campaign with a 3-2 win over Real Madrid.
There were just two minutes on the clock when Chelsea got a slice of fortune, the kind that had evaded them in the build-up to the game, as Sjoeke Nusken's header took a heavy deflection off Sheila Garcia and left her goalkeeper, Misa Rodriguez, with absolutely no chance. Before the half-hour mark, Guro Reiten coolly converted from the spot to double that lead and leave the visitors wondering what had hit them. They'd done little wrong and yet they were 2-0 down.
Alba Redondo was able to halve that deficit before the break, capitalising on some sloppy Chelsea defending, but the Blues re-established the two-goal cushion quickly after half time when Misa was beaten by another deflected header, this one from Mayra Ramirez. From there, it was all relatively comfortable until Real Madrid introduced Colombia sensation Linda Caicedo and she got another back for the visitors late on. But the hosts held on and were able to kickstart the group stage with a win.
GOAL rates Chelsea's players from Stamford Bridge…
Goalkeeper & Defence
Zecira Musovic (6/10):
Did especially well considering she was thrown into the XI at short notice.
Lucy Bronze (6/10):
Struck a nice balance of attack and defence, while admirably sticking to the task of marking Caicedo late on.
Millie Bright (4/10):
Got in Musovic's way for Redondo's strike and then was all mixed up for Caicedo's effort.
Nathalie Bjorn (5/10):
Too reactive when Chelsea were put under pressure at the back.
Sandy Baltimore (7/10):
Showed a fantastic attitude towards the left-back role, when many forwards wouldn't have. A bright spark in attack and was committed defensively.
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Sjoeke Nusken (6/10):
There was a slice of fortune about her goal but she took up a good position.
Wieke Kaptein (6/10):
Battled hard in the middle of the park to win the ball back plenty, though was sloppy for Real Madrid's first goal.
Lauren James (7/10):
Was always trying to make things happen and got stuck in, too. Great cross for Ramirez's goal.
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Johanna Rytting Kaneryd (6/10):
Had some really lively moments in attack, though was beaten too easily by Carmona in the build-up to Redondo's goal.
Mayra Ramirez (6/10):
Tried to get as involved as much as she could, despite little service, and capitalised on the best cross that came her way.
Guro Reiten (6/10):
Cool as ice with her penalty.
Subs & Manager
Maika Hamano (5/10):
Brought plenty of energy to the pitch but couldn't make a significant impact.
Aggie Beever-Jones (6/10):
Provided an important outlet as Chelsea saw the game out.
Ashley Lawrence (6/10):
Made a couple of important defensive interventions after her introduction.
Oriane Jean-Francois (N/A):
Made her Chelsea debut in the closing stages.
Maelys Mpome (N/A):
Another debutante late on.
Sonia Bompastor (7/10):
It was a risk to play Baltimore at left-back, rather than one of the more natural options on her bench, and it paid dividends as the France star put in a fantastic performance. Was smart with her substitutions when things got nervy late on.