How Sonia Bompastor’s ruthless changes inspired Chelsea’s win over Man City
On what ended up being an excellent day for Sonia Bompastor, the Chelsea manager first had to accept that it started with a mistake. Kadeisha Buchanan, the centre-back, had been cleared to start by Chelsea’s medical team despite taking a knock to the head in training on Friday. Her assignment was to stop the world’s best striker, Khadija Shaw, who had arrived at Stamford Bridge having scored in nine Women’s Super League games in a row since the start of the season. But the way Chelsea set up in their top-of-the-table clash with Manchester City at first appeared designed to present Shaw with every opportunity to make it 10. For Bompastor, it soon became apparent that something was not right.
Buchanan, visibly struggling, was given a torrid opening 12 minutes, beaten for pace by Shaw twice on the outside and dragged into deeply uncomfortable positions as the striker roamed and bared her teeth. Aoba Fujino should have fired the champions in front after four minutes, but she placed Shaw’s cut-back horribly wide after Buchanan had been easily by-passed. Katie McCabe then had a narrow escape when she sliced Shaw’s cross past the post. Bracing herself on the touchline, Bompastor had to act.
The Chelsea back-line all looked up with the same blank expression as Veerle Buurman stood ready on the sideline; no one appeared to know the change that was coming. Buchanan, perhaps to hide her embarrassment, went straight down the tunnel. “Watching her from the beginning of the game, she was not 100 per cent,” Bompastor explained. “I know my player and she was not in the game. You have to be brave to make that change in the moment.”
Changing her back-line that early, Bompastor said, was a “risk”, but it was the ruthless change Chelsea needed. Bompastor spent the first half tinkering and tweaking until they could feel as if they could go toe-to-toe with Andree Jeglertz’s side. By the start of the second half, Chelsea had already made three changes. Buchanan’s early withdrawal was followed by Melvine Mallard being forced off with a hamstring injury. Sandy Baltimore’s stunning strike ended up being the winner, a thunderbolt that even she did not seem to expect judging by the forward’s nonchalant celebration, but it was also her final touch as she was replaced at the break, as Bompastor decided to make a half-time change instead of using up her only available substitute window early in the second half.
That paid off, too. All the changes helped as Bompastor’s side began to compete and match City in all departments. Buurman was outstanding against Shaw and was not daunted to face her one-on-one. Lucy Bronze was immense, too, continuing to impress at centre-back and relishing the bruising battles with Shaw and Lauren Hemp. “They are magic and they can't stop scoring,” Bronze said before revealing inspiration from McCabe. “We had to be dogs.” Eventually, Chelsea found a balance where they could be ferocious. Ellie Carpenter and Alyssa Thompson pushed high and wide, their midfield clicked together and City’s threat became muted; after such a menacing start, Shaw finished the game without a shot on target. “We restricted her,” Bronze added.
It meant Chelsea could leapfrog City to lead the WSL after 10 games, handing the champions their first defeat of the season while remaining unbeaten themselves. Despite the absence of Lauren James and their struggles to consistently turn chances into goals, they have found a way to win and return top. Emma Hayes, the former Chelsea boss, ended the afternoon punching the air from her seat in the stands next to England manager Sarina Wiegman. This was a throwback to the Chelsea team she left, or the side Bompastor picked up in her first season at Stamford Bridge. “We're in a better place than we were last year,” said Keira Walsh.
Jeglertz responded with his own changes and introducing the fit-again Vivianne Miedema and Laura Blindkilde-Brown almost turned the game in City’s favour. Hemp missed a sitter, inches away from the goalline, when the England winger failed to get a connection on Shaw’s lob. “We had a couple of great opportunities to score,” Jeglertz accepted. “We deserved more.” The second half had become breathless but City’s hopes were as good as over by the 75th minute when goalkeeper Ayaka Yamashita was sent off for rushing off her line and clattering into Thompson after the winger had rounded her outside the box.
A City victory would have opened their lead in the title race to five points. For the first 10 minutes, the champions felt as if they would be leaving Stamford Bridge with a statement result. Instead, while London City Lionesses could enter the picture if they defeat Arsenal on Sunday, it is Chelsea who lead the way. Led by Bompastor’s example, their ruthlessness is back and they look up for the fight.
