Julius OkorieManchester City put an end to Chelsea Ladies 31 games unbeaten run with a 2-0 defeat in the first leg of their two-legged Champions League quarterfinal on Wednesday.
It was the first defeat for Chelsea boss Sonia Bompastor prior to this time has been enjoying back to back victories at all fronts. It was Vivianne Miedema’s double off the bench that did the damage which has now put Chelsea ladies in a precarious situation heading to the return leg on March 27 as they look to secure an elusive first Champions League trophy.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe encounter had looked as if it might end in stalemate until Miedema climbed off the bench after the restart to lash home the opener on the hour mark.
Blues goalkeeper Hannah Hampton did well to tip Laia Aleixandri’s header onto the bar in the build-up but was left helpless when it fell to the substitute from point-blank range.
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Pressure began to mount on the hosts as time ticked down, with Mayra Ramirez seeing a goal disallowed for offside and Johanna Rytting Kaneryd crashing an effort off the woodwork, but any City fears of walking away without a win were addressed when Miedema poked home her second to double the advantage late on.
The impressive result was made more palatable considering that City were without star forward Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw and Japan international Aoba Fujino due to injury.
They will now be tasked with replicating these same successes at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday when the two sides meet again in the Women’s Super League, before travelling to Stamford Bridge four days later to defend their advantage in Europe
The winner of the tie between Man City and Chelsea will go on to face either Barcelona, who secured a 4-1 win in the earlier kick-off, or Wolfsburg.
A disappointed Chelesa boss Sonia Bompastor had this to say after the loss, “It’s difficult tonight but my job is to make sure from tomorrow, we have a positive mindset. What you can control is in the future. We have only lost one game in the season, it was important but it happens.
“I will stay confident going into the second leg. We have a lot of quality in the squad and the freshness will be important. We have depth in the squad.
“But the only positive thing tonight is we have the second leg at home next week, and everything will be possible.
“I don’t think we were good enough. I don’t think we had enough effort in our press. We were sloppy on our passing.
“We have to go back and be better for the weekend and for the second leg. Although we are two goals down, we are completely confident that we can turn this around.”
Man City may be having two goals advantage going into the second leg; they will however need to fight harder if they are to stop Chelsea from turning the table at home.
Barcelona are current holders of the title, but Lyon hold the record of highest wins with eight titles in the kitty.
Julius Okorie is Chief Sports and Entertainment Correspondent for Prime Business Africa. He began his journalism career with the Champion Newspaper and Sporting Champion and later moved on to Daily Independent and the Nation Newspapers. Okorie joined Prime Business Africa in 2024 bringing on board 20 years of experience in writing investigative news on Sports and Entertainment. His well researched and highly informative articles on Sports Business and general entertainment are followed by a wide range of audience.
