Chelsea cruise into WCL knockout stage as Bompastor continues perfect start

Chelsea powered their way into the knockout stages of the Women's Champions League with two games to spare after eliminating Celtic at Stamford Bridge.

Lucy Bronze opened the scoring in the second minute with a stunning volley, and further goals from 19-year-old Wieke Kaptein and Eve Perisset saw the West London team take home three points and a clean sheet.

This was new Chelsea head coach Sonia Bompastor's 11th consecutive win in all competitions since taking over from Emma Hayes at the start of the season.

Bompastor praised her part's performance, saying, “I am really happy. I told the players before the match that tonight was an opportunity to qualify for the quarter-finals, which we made.

'As a club it is always important to ensure that you have the chance to qualify after four matches.

“I think that's perfect, even though you saw last week and even tonight that not everything was perfect, but in terms of results we are in a good place.

'That's good because it gives a lot of confidence and it is important for us to continue. We work hard and make sure it is easy, even if it is not always easy.'

So far it has been Celtic who have given the Blues perhaps one of their most difficult moments this season.

It was in tonight's reverse fixture that saw Glasgow put Chelsea behind for the first time this season before goals from Maika Hamano and Ashley Lawrence ensured the damage was undone before the final whistle.

This game was far from that – albeit fleeting – battle. Chelsea dominated possession, scoring a total of 25 shots to Celtic's three.

After Bronze's goal found the back of Kelsey Daugherty's net in the second minute, signs of a Celtic capitulation began to emerge.

And although Chelsea doubled their lead just over twenty minutes later through Wieke Kaptein, a capitulation did not follow.

And this was a credit to a brave Celtic defense who fought until the last moment before an unfortunate handball from Shannon McGregor in the penalty area meant Eve Perisset was awarded a penalty at the death, which she coolly converted.

A quick word about the Lucy Bronze goal: it was really something to see. Chelsea won a corner in the opening seconds and it fell short for Guro Reiten, whose swinging cross was neatly met by the Lioness star's laces just inside the penalty area. While Celtic goalkeeper Daughtery was able to get a hand on it, the ball had too much punch and Chelsea had the lead.

Bompastor made six changes to the team that sidelined Manchester City last weekend. Catarina Macario replaced Mayra Ramirez and Zecira Musovic started between the sticks in place of Hannah Hampton.

The Blues have been in commanding form since the end of the Hayes' tenure. They haven't lost since May 1, with a 14-match winning streak in all competitions unmatched since Arsenal in 2018.

And with fixtures coming faster and faster at this stage of the season, Bompastor will appreciate her seemingly endless team of superstars.