Everyone now knows the story. Chelsea defender Lucy Bronze played through this summer's Women’s European Championship with a fractured tibia and, despite that, played a key role in England’s triumph.
Bronze took some time to regain full fitness after lifting the trophy in Switzerland. Her first appearance of the season for Chelsea came on October 12 as a late substitute against Tottenham Hotspur. She then played 30 minutes in a Women's Champions League win over Paris FC.
The recent international break was to the defender's benefit; she played more valuable minutes as a substitute against Brazil and started and scored in a victory over Australia.
That meant upon the return of domestic duties, with a visit of London City Lionesses to Stamford Bridge in the Women's Super League on Saturday, Bronze was ready to make her return to the Chelsea starting XI. But could she play alongside summer arrival and fellow right-back Ellie Carpenter?
That question was answered when Bompastor’s line-up was revealed on Saturday, as she placed Bronze on the right-hand side of a back three alongside Nathalie Bjorn and Millie Bright on the left.
Carpenter was then able to push higher up as the right wing-back, and the selections from the head coach paid off almost immediately when the Australian international netted in the sixth minute.
Even from a traditionally less attacking role at centre-back, Bronze managed to impact the game.
The 34-year-old ranked highest of any Chelsea player for completed passes with 58 in total. That’s not unusual for a centre-back, as defenders often rack up higher numbers by passing the ball across the backline to each other in an attempt to find a gap and advance the ball forward.
That wasn’t the case on Saturday for Bronze, as she ranked highest for chances created (three) and completed passes in the final third of the pitch (23).
The graphic below shows how she influenced the whole of the right-hand side of the pitch with successful passes in green and key passes in yellow.
Defensively, Bronze ranked in the top five for tackles won (one) and ball recoveries (four) as she played her part in keeping the clean sheet.
Whether we see Bronze in this role again remains to be seen. When asked about deploying her together with Carpenter, Bompastor explained that the 34-year-old had said it wasn’t physically demanding enough for her.
It was a typical response from the same player who played through the pain barrier in the summer, and one who continues to prove her importance for Chelsea, no matter where she is asked to play.