Chelsea ‘won’t win’ Champions League ‘playing like that’

It was Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor’s first game in charge of the club in the Women’s Champions League so she was pleased to get off to a winning start.

The Frenchwoman has won the competition three times, twice as a player and once as a manager with former club Lyon.

But she said on Monday that the postponement of Chelsea’s Women’s Super League match against Manchester United – due to be played on Sunday – impacted their preparation.

They had not played a competitive fixture in 10 days when they lined up at Stamford Bridge to face Real and were hit by illness in the squad this week.

“We have to play with a lot of intensity. I don’t want to find excuses but maybe because we didn’t play for 10 days, it’s something that can help you understand why tonight we were a little bit down,” said Bompastor.

“We scored the two goals but the players were not working as hard as I wanted them to work on the pitch.

“When we had the ball we were just walking to get the ball which is not enough. If you want to possess the ball, you have to run a lot.”

Bompastor also said she wanted her side to “manage the game more” after sloppiness let Real back into the game.

“When I say manage the game, it’s not about slowing it down, but being smarter,” added Bompastor.

“When you begin the game with two goals, it’s good to keep that result. We conceded two goals where we maybe could have done better.

“We were a bit nervous about Madrid getting stronger. I would like us to manage the game better.”