Bompastor starts WSL life as Chelsea boss with victory over Aston Villa

BY GINA BAGNULO

Defending league champions Chelsea went head to head against Aston Villa in a much-anticipated start to their Women’s Super League (WSL) season on Friday – kicking off with a 1-0 victory.

The Blues kept Villa on their toes for much of the first half, taking multiple shots on goal.

Guro Reiten, in particular, proved to be a formidable opponent – only briefly missing the Villa net as she tried to score an early goal.

Johanna Ritten Kaneryd scored the first Chelsea goal of the season as the Swedish international belted the ball into the net 10 minutes before half-time.

The Blues were eager for a second goal. Khadeija Buchannan came very close when she headed the ball inches above the crossbar.

Another opportunity for the hosts arose when Erin Cuthbert made a clean shot at the Villa goal before landing her attempt in the hands of goalkeeper Sabrina D’Angelo.

A sold-out Kingsmeadow Stadium of 4,337 spectators was the perfect beginning to Sonia Bompastor’s maiden season with the Blues. The French manager has no easy task ahead of her – succeeding the long reign of Emma Hayes, whose leadership helped Chelsea win seven WSL titles over her 12-year tenure.

Bompastor said: “The focus was a lot on me – especially coming to this first game. I just said maybe that’s no more, it’s a new era, it’s a new coach – so everyone is expecting something from me and I’m fine with that because pressure is something I’ve experienced in my life for so many years.

“It doesn’t give me something negative. It gives me something positive. But I think that I told the press conference before the game that this game was not only about me – because it is also about the team. We had some new players who started their first game in the league – Lucy Bronze and Sandy Baltimore – so it was good, especially for all of us.”

This year, more than any other, has proven itself to be game changing for the WSL with Chelsea one of the clubs expected to bring in high attendance numbers. To stay ahead of the curve, many high-profile players signed for Chelsea during the summer transfer window, the most notable being England international Bronze from Barcelona.

“It’s important to have players who have experience, players who are really competitive, players who also share this experience and the communication with the younger ones”, said Bompastor on the importance of these new signings.

On Bronze specifically, she added: “From the starting 11 tonight you could see a lot of experience. Lucy was one of them and with her experience she’s going to give some confidence to her teammates and she brings that to the team.”

PICTURE: PA