The Champions League is Chelsea’s white whale. They want it. They want it badly. However, their title credentials took a knock in the Netherlands, a 1-1 draw against Twente far from the ideal start to a tournament they long to dominate.
Despite Chelsea’s dominance in possession it was the home team that took the lead through their captain, Danique van Ginkel, before Sandy Baltimore converted from the spot for the equaliser.
“It’s not a good result at all,” said Sonia Bompastor, speaking to Disney+. “We wanted to start the campaign with three points and a victory. Tonight, out of possession I am quite happy with the performance, even if we conceded a goal. In possession, when you play this game you need to show more desire especially when you are in the box.”
Every piece of silverware is valuable but, for the team that has repeatedly won it all domestically, the desire for the final piece of the puzzle is strong. It eluded them during Emma Hayes’s tenure, defeat to Barcelona in the 2021 final the closest they came. Three back-to-back semi-final defeats to Barcelona, including losing 8-2 on aggregate to the Catalan giants last season, have stung each and every time.
Bompastor flexed the muscles of her squad for the trip to Enschede, with only four of the team that started their 1-1 draw with Manchester United on Friday night on the pitch, but it proved costly as they started their Champions League campaign in a new era of the competition – the group stage replaced by a league phase akin to the men’s tournament.
These two teams met in last season’s group stage, Chelsea inflicting a 9-2 aggregate defeat on the Dutch side. Van Ginkel suggested things would be different one year on. “I hope we’ve matured a bit and can address what we did wrong,” she said.
At De Grolsch Veste that maturity showed. Twente did not try to match Chelsea’s press or compete one-on-one; they were an efficient unit, frustrating the visitors, who threw wave after wave of attacks at the home team, the Belgium goalkeeper Diede Lemey doing her bit to thwart the Women’s Super League leaders.
Afterwards, Van Ginkel said: “We made big, big steps. We fought as a team, the plan was good. We defended a lot but I am really proud.”
It was the home side who took the lead, having twice failed to make the most of opportunities to do so beforehand. Chelsea would rue their own profligacy when Jill Roord’s cutback found Van Ginkel and the captain shifted on to her right foot and lashed past Livia Peng – the goalkeeper handed a start ahead of the Yashin Trophy winner Hannah Hampton.
The Scotland forward Caroline Weir struck twice as Real Madrid launched their Champions League campaign with a 6-2 statement win over Roma. Weir was on target in each half at Estadio Alfredo Di Stéfano but it was her first strike in the 23rd minute that set pulses racing as she dribbled into the box before beating Rachele Baldi with a powerful shot. Real went in at half-time 3-2 up but pulled cleared with Weir, their captain, adding her second (pictured) before Alba Redondo completed her double, with Eva Navarro sealing a dominant victory in which they had 14 shots on target. Evelyne Viens and Emilie Haavi scored for Roma.
Liga F teams occupy the top three spots in the table after Atlético Madrid overwhelmed the Austrian club St Polten 6-0 away from home. The Brazilian midfielder Luany was the star of the evening with her assist and 23rd-minute strike helping her side build a comfortable lead. Atlético were 4-0 up by the interval with Gio Garbelini, Andrea Medina and Vilde Bøe Risa also finding their way past Carina Schluter. They had to wait until the closing moments for their next goals, however, with Fiamma Benítez hitting the target twice, the first from the penalty spot. Benítez’s double meant Atlético finished the first round of European matches above Real in second place, behind Barcelona, who beat Bayern Munich 7-1 on Tuesday.
Wolfsburg also made a strong start by crushing Paris Saint-Germain 4-0 at AOK Stadion. An early Jackie Groenen own goal put the French visitors on the back foot and they then leaked goals to Ella Peddemors, Alexandra Popp and Janina Minge. PA Media
Chelsea kept up their dominance. They may not have delivered thrilling performances this term but they have delivered results and in the Netherlands they continued to fuel that narrative as they launched a comeback. Lynn Groenewegen’s step on the foot of Guro Reiten gave the visiting team a penalty, and they could arguably have had one moments earlier when a late boot went into Erin Cuthbert’s shin. Baltimore converted to level the scores.
A winner eluded them and frustrations will be high. “In the first half we had multiple situations in the box and we had 18 crosses, only six times we were first on the ball. This is not enough when you play a Champions League game,” said Bompastor.
Chelsea have opportunities to steady the ship against Paris FC and St Pölten before they play their old foes Barcelona, Roma and then the two-time champions Wolfsburg, but there is work to be done.
Mentality will be “crucial”, said Bompastor. “Sometimes you talk a lot about tactics, but the main thing in football is to have the right mentality, the right intensity when you have the ball. We tried and tonight it’s tough, but we need to take the learnings from this game.”
