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Chelsea Women 3-0 Celtic Women: Blues reach Champions League quarter-finals

Admin 12 hours ago

6 2 minutes read

Chelsea recorded a convincing 3-0 win over Celtic to seal early qualification for the knockout rounds of the Women's Champions League and guarantee the Hoops' exit from the competition.

The hosts got off to a dream start as Lucy Bronze volleyed home inside 65 seconds, before Guro Reiten teased a cross for Wieke Kaptein to head in her first European goal.

The match threatened to get away from Celtic before the halfway mark, but the Scottish side did well to regain their composure and resist further advances from Chelsea.

Powerhouse Mayra Ramirez was introduced at half-time and quickly made her presence felt, asking further questions about Celtic's resolve, before Bronze won an injury-time penalty to seal the deal – expertly dispatched by substitute Eve Perisset.

And to cap off a satisfying night's work, there was still time for 17-year-old Lola Brown to make her senior debut.

The win, a perfect rehearsal for Sunday's WSL meeting with Manchester United, takes Sonia Bompastor's impeccable record to 11 wins from 11. Chelsea will have to wait until February to get to know their quarter-final opponents, but is certain that they can progress from Group B alongside Real Madrid. with two games left.

Bompastor: Great that we were able to rotate the squad ahead of the Man Utd game

Chelsea Women head coach Sonia Bompastor speaks at her post-match press conference:

“[I’m] really happy. I told the players tonight before the game that this was an opportunity for us to qualify for the quarter-finals, and we did that.

“We also remain at the top of the rankings, and that is also something we certainly want to achieve.

“It is great news that we have been able to rotate the squad and give some players the opportunity to play another Champions League match. We can reassure some players by thinking about the match against Manchester United.” [on Sunday].

“As a club it is always important to make sure that after four games you have the chance to qualify. That is perfect.

“Even though you saw last week and tonight, not everything was perfect in the performance, but in the result we are in a good place. It is good because it gives a lot of confidence and it is important for us to continue our run .So, lots of positives.”

Sadiku: I'm excited about what we have in front of us

Celtic Women manager Elena Sadiku said in her post-match press conference:

“It says a lot about the team I have. We have quality players and the players are learning that as a team we can compete with Chelsea and Real Madrid.

“I've seen them hurt other teams more than they hurt us. You can see how good they've been against top players. There are star players in every position for them.”

“We are learning and growing. We are growing in confidence. There are many things we can improve as well. This experience will be great for us in the future.

“When we sit down and go through what we have achieved and done, I feel proud, but also hungry to win the league again, be more successful and play in the Champions League again.

“I'm excited about what we have in front of us. This is the start of something new. We want Celtic to become a team that everyone in women's football is familiar with.”