FROM STAMFORD BRIDGE: Chelsea overcame Celtic FC to cement their place at the top of the UEFA Women’s Champions League (UWCL) group stage on Wednesday night.
A bright start at Stamford Bridge saw Chelsea take the lead after a minute thanks to a spectacular volley from Lucy Bronze. An early UWCL goal from Wieke Kaptein and a penalty from Eve Perisset sealed the victory for the Blues, who are yet to drop a point under the new management of Sonia Bompastor.
The win means Chelsea consolidate their place at the top of their group, securing qualification for the next round of European competition. Celtic, however, are still waiting for a point at the bottom of the standings.
How the game developed
Chelsea won an early corner, threatening Celtic from the first whistle. The home side took the lead after a minute when Sjoeke Nusken and Catarina Macario combined on a short corner on the edge of the box. None other than Lucy Bronze would meet the looping cross, sending her shot first time into the back of the net.
Macario had a chance to double Chelsea’s lead just minutes later when his quick feet weaved through the Celtic defense before sending his shot just over the crossbar.
It was a night of kick and hope for Elena Sadiku’s side in the early stages as Celtic’s only real chances came from long balls over the top which were quickly snuffed out by the Chelsea defence.
The visitors created their best chance in the 18th minute when Amy Gallacher found Murphy Agnew with a back-breaking pass. Agnew felt the presence of a tracking Millie Bright, sending her shot wide of the goal in a hurry.
Chelsea’s set piece prowess paid off again in the 24th minute as a short corner combination allowed Guro Reiten time to volley a cross into the box. A well-timed run from Wieke Kaptein saw him find the ball in the air and head home a second for the Blues.
The second half resumed just as it ended, with Chelsea orchestrating proceedings. The Blues struck early, but Kaptein’s shot from distance sailed just wide of the crossbar. Rytting Kaneryd had a similar chance minutes later, but once again his curling shot was high over the bar.
A mistake at the back almost opened the door for the visitors in the dying moments when Zecira Musovic turned over possession on the edge of the box. The Chelsea goalkeeper breathed a sigh of relief as the Celtic striker was found offside.
Late drama saw the hosts awarded a penalty as Shannon McGregor was caught with a hand inside the box. Eve Perisset stepped up to the spot, calmly scoring Chelsea’s third goal of the night.
GK: Zecira Musovic – 7/10 – He didn’t have much to do on the night as Celtic registered just one shot on target all game. He almost made a costly mistake in the closing moments as he turned possession over in the final third.
RB: Lucy Bronze – 9/10 – An incredible volley in the first minute gave Chelsea the lead at Stamford Bridge and set the tone for the rest of Bronze’s night. A strong and intelligent display from the English defender.
CB: Maelys Mpome – 8/10 – Much improved performance from the back center compared to the outside leg. She looked very confident defensively alongside Bright, and proved to be a brilliant outlet from the defense for Chelsea.
CB: Millie Bright (c) – 8/10 – A very solid performance from the Chelsea captain. He snuffed out every ball that Celtic tried to play over and did well to organize the Blues’ defence.
LB: Ashley Lawrence – 8/10 – Another fine performance from a reliable defender, Lawrence did well to combine with Reiten out wide to advance the ball with care.
CM: Sjoeke Nusken – 7/10 – A quiet night for Nusken, but not a negative performance. Celtic sat deep, so the midfielder didn’t have much defensive work in central areas. Had some brilliant moments in possession.
CM: Oriane Jean-Francois – 7/10 – A few nervous moments in possession, but everything went unpunished. He’s really starting to settle into the midfield and will continue to improve as he gets more minutes.
CM: Captain week – 9/10 – The young midfielder fully deserved her first Champions League goal after weeks of brilliant form. Chelsea’s future is bright, and Kaptein has shown he could be the future star with the highest ceiling. She backed up her player of the game last week brilliantly, proving to be a real creative asset for Chelsea.
RW: Johanna Rytting Kaneryd – 8/10 – He was a driving force down Chelsea’s right, dropping back when needed and causing Celtic real problems when possession progressed.
LW: Guro Riding – 7/10 – It was deadly on set pieces, but it was much quieter than usual in other areas. I wasn’t wrong and it had some bright moments, but nothing extraordinary.
ST: Catarina Macario – 7/10 – She caused nightmares in the Celta defense from the first minute, beating her markers and combining well with her teammates in midfield to advance the game. I would have received a higher rating if I had played the second part.
Substitutes
SUB: Mayra RamÃrez (46′ for Macario) – 6/10 – A very strong presence as always, but lacking his usual clinical edge in front of goal.
SUB: Erin Cuthbert (58′ for Rytting Kaneryd) – 7/10 – His usual composure, helping Chelsea retain most of the possession in the second half.
SUB: Eve Perisset (69′ for Reiten) – 8/10 – Not much for Perisset to do as Celtic posed minimal threat, but the defense settled down with the ball when they had it. A cool and collected penalty for Chelsea’s third.
SUB: Lola Brown (85′ for Lawrence) – N/A
SUB: Julia Bartel (85′ for Nusken) – N/A
Subs not used: Hannah Hampton, Maika Hamano, Katie Cox, Nathalie Bjorn, Sandy Baltimore
manager
Sonia Bompastor – 9/10 – Bompastor can do no wrong in west London at the moment, extending his winning streak to eleven games without a win since arriving at Chelsea. He learned from last week’s performance and selected the right amount of experience and rotation to get the most out of his side. The new coach got the most out of young players like Kaptein, while extending the love periods of experienced talents like Bronze.
