Sonia Bompastor praised Real Sociedad’s resolve after our 1-0 win in San Sebastian on Wednesday night and was happy to have the opportunity to feature some of our younger players.
Added to our 5-2 win over the Spanish side at Plough Lane last week, we qualified for the Women’s Champions League with a 6-2 aggregate victory.
Chelsea Academy graduate Lexi Potter started the match, while fellow Academy star Chloe Sarwie was introduced in place of Sandy Baltimore. New 18-year-old signing Nelly Las also came off the bench.
With only two games played, we have already achieved a key objective in our season, and Bompastor was keen to praise the efforts of her team.
‘I'm pleased with the result,’ she said afterwards. ‘We kept a clean sheet, which is always important, and when you do that, you always have a bigger chance to win games. I'm glad we could rotate the team with the starting XI, but also the players who came in.
‘I think today we gave some really good opportunities to the young players to come and experience a Champions League game, so when you have the opportunity to do that, I think it's always something really positive.
‘I'm happy and really excited now to be in the Champions League this season. The goal was for us to qualify, which is what we have done.
‘People will probably think when you are Chelsea, it’s easy to do, but we played against a really strong team in Real Sociedad. Over the two legs, they showed some really good quality, and I think these two games are a really good preparation for us to come into the season in the league.’
The Blues will now return to Cobham, recover and prepare for our first WSL match of the season against Aston Villa on Saturday.
Bompastor is hoping for a bumper crowd to cheer her side on as we mark the first game at Stamford Bridge since we made it our permanent home.
‘First, it's time to focus on recovering from the game,’ she continued. ‘We are really excited to come into the WSL game on Saturday against Aston Villa. Playing at Stamford Bridge will also be something really special.
‘We are really excited to start the league on Saturday at home, in front of all our fans. I can't wait to be in that moment.
‘I'm hoping for the fans to show up and to come and support us. We will need their support. It will be an important game because we want to begin strongly and start with a win against Aston Villa.’