Chelsea kicked off the new season with a 5-2 win against Real Sociedad in the first leg of our Women’s Champions League qualifying tie, and with two assists to her name, Ellie Carpenter was one of the star performers on the night.
The Blues went in level at the interval after Ainhoa Mari had put the visitors ahead with a stunning strike before Naomi Girma equalised.
A powerful header from Veerle Buurman put us in front after the break, but Sociedad fought back with a determined equaliser, and it was at that point that Chelsea had to show what we were made of.
Substitute Melvine Malard scored twice on her debut, and Lauren James chipped in with another in the final stages of the match to give us a three-goal cushion heading into the second leg. After the victory, Carpenter shed light on how we clicked into gear.
‘It is quite hard going straight into such a big, important game,’ said the wing-back. ‘Some of us are not really used to that. It was a good test for us, and obviously in the first half we were a bit rusty, and we had to fix things up; we really had to get into the game.
‘We came out in the second half and really gave it to them, playing with strength and confidence as well. It was a great team performance all round.
‘It’s also good to have these big games early on in the season. It gets us ready for the WSL, which starts next weekend. We have so many amazing individual players that can play in different positions. There's so much versatility in this team. We can play different formations. So that's also a strength of ours.
‘The opponent doesn't really know what's coming if we keep changing, but I think our fluidity, you could see, was slowly building. We're slowly building those connections, and it's only the first game of this season.
‘Our aim was to come out strong and score plenty of goals if we could. I think we did that as a team. We played the game, and it was fun doing it. I think it was a great performance and a hint of what's to come from this team.’
Sonia Bompastor was subject to a touchline suspension for Wednesday’s match. With the head coach absent, assistant Camille Abily presided over the 5-2 victory.
Our Spanish opponents were well-organised throughout the first half, but the stand-in boss worked with the team on some tactical tweaks to iron out any issues.
‘I think at half-time it was just a case of keep doing our stuff, playing fast, playing with some discipline, and then it will come,' said Carpenter. 'The coach fixed a couple of things, and we did that, and we could see the results in the second half. We pushed them and got the win.
‘One of the messages at half-time was to hold our runs a bit more and make those forward runs connecting with the passes and the player, and just waiting for the right timing. We tidied that up in the second half and really exploited their high line.
‘It was a case of getting back on top and keep doing our jobs. We'll look at those goals we conceded and how we can tighten it for the next game next week.’
Having provided the cross for Malard’s second goal, Carpenter paid tribute to our summer acquisition. The pair have reunited after playing together under Bompastor and Abily at Lyon, and they linked up straight away.
‘Obviously we have that relationship from Lyon,’ the Australian smiled. ‘So it's nice to have her on the team. She brings such great energy and such a good vibe, and she’s an amazing footballer, so I like combining with her.’
Wednesday’s match took place at Plough Lane in Wimbledon, a ground that will play host to our Women’s FA Cup matches and any league phase games we face in the Women’s Champions League.
All Women’s Super League fixtures will be played at Stamford Bridge, starting with a clash against Aston Villa on Saturday 5 September. Carpenter was impressed with our second new home and paid tribute to the support from the fans in the stands.
‘It's a really nice stadium, and it's a real football stadium,’ she remarked. ‘The seats are really close. You can feel the fans. They were really pushing us throughout the whole game. We're happy to move in here.’