Chelsea beat Roma to maintain unbeaten Champions League start

Chelsea have won two of their opening three league-phase matches in the Women’s Champions League and drawn the other. A 2-0 victory over Roma extended their unbeaten start to the competition and offered further evidence of the team’s return to form.

Ellie Carpenter and Kadeisha Buchanan scored for Chelsea against Roma. Buchanan sealed the victory with a header shortly before the end. The result moved Chelsea temporarily to the top of the table. Hacken, Paris Saint-Germain and Leuven are among the sides Chelsea will face in their final three league-phase fixtures.

The run follows an unbeaten previous season, when the team completed a domestic treble in Bompastor’s first year in charge. The Champions League, however, presents a different level of challenge from those Chelsea had already faced in the WSL. Bompastor said she had rotated her squad to manage both competitions.

The coach said she was pleased with the results and the range of performances. “I’m really pleased with the defensive solidity. We have played three games and haven’t conceded,” she said. She believes that defensive foundation can matter in competitions and that the quality in her team will allow it to create chances.

Bompastor also recalled that Chelsea’s opening match in the competition had been difficult: against Austria Vienna, the side had to find a way to win. Her aim, she said, remains to control matches as much as possible, whatever the competition.

For the coach, success is not only about tactical decisions. She stressed the importance of mental and cultural factors, as well as shared values. Captain Erin Cuthbert, meanwhile, said she was not particularly surprised by the level the team had shown. She pointed to a productive pre-season and said the quality had already been there, even if the side had not yet clicked.

The win over Roma gives Chelsea another result in an unbeaten league-phase campaign, with three fixtures still to come.