Chelsea's pre-season review
New manager
Bompastor had previously been the manager at Lyon and a known cereal winner of the Champions League, which is probably why she was at the top of their list. They want a female manager and the alluded trophy that Barcelona has prevented them from having the last three seasons. But for the manager to win 2/2 of her first games, especially against Arsenal, is a perfect start. “We worked hard as a team,” said Bompastor in a post-match interview “The result is good, even if we still need to work. These two games [against Gotham FC and then Arsenal] have been good in helping us progress.”
Hayes did a brilliant job at preparing the squad for this period. Her commitment to getting competitive minutes into the legs of Chelsea’s future stars before the end of the season is paying dividends for Bompastor. The manager, who has signed a 4-year deal with the Blues, is incredibly grateful to have joined Chelsea Football Club as the head coach of the women's team. It is an institution in English football. I will give my all to this new project to meet the club's ambitions, the staff and the players.
'I hope to live up to Emma's legacy and continue the work done in recent years. Let the adventure begin.' Bompaster said in her joining the English team.
The 43-year-old was capped 156 times by the French national team before retiring in 2013 to take up a coaching position with Lyon’s Academy. In April 2021, she became the first team head coach and has enjoyed much success, winning the Division 1 Feminine title in the last three seasons.
She led Lyon to a league and European double during her first entire season in charge, becoming the first person to win the UEFA Women’s Champions League as both a player and a head coach.
New players.
Spanish midfielder Julia Bartel, who arrived from Barcelona, started our summer recruitment. The 20-year-old has signed a three-year contract with an optional one-year extension.
Dynamic French forward Sandy Baltimore joined on a free transfer from PSG after eight years at the club. The 24-year-old has penned a four-year deal in west London.
Oriane Jean-Francois joins former PSG teammates Baltimore and Ashley Lawrence in moving across the English Channel to Stamford Bridge. The French midfielder can play at the base of central midfield or go box-to-box when required. She has signed a contract until 2028 with the option of an extra year.
Full-back Lucy Bronze arrives from Spanish giant Barcelona with a glittering CV and five UEFA Women's Champions League titles. The England legend has put pen to paper on a two-year contract with the club.
Sam Kerr
Blues forward Sam Kerr agreed to extend her stay in west London last month, with her new deal running until 2026. The 30-year-old joined the Blues midway through the 2019/20 season and has since won five Women’s Super League titles, three FA Cups, two FA Continental Tyres League Cups and one Community Shield.
Game against Gotham
With a 3-1 win against a US team on paper, it should not be challenging, but let's not forget this is not the beginning of their season. They are not just getting their sea legs on. But that would not be seen in the scoreline. The new manager and new era for this Blues have previously not seen the men's team well. Still, this new look looks good on the women.
A player of last season, who did not get enough recognition for her work, Rytting Kaneryd, netted in the 7th and 15th minutes, with Beever-Jones adding a third. Ironically, Jess Carter departed to Gotham following her fiancee to the club and got on the score sheet but for the other side. This was one of the few departures I was sad about, as she had a fantastic season last year and was a rock in our defence. Head coach Bompastor pitched summer signing Lucy Bronze in from the start as the England international bagged her first minutes in Chelsea blue.
Teenage midfielder Wieke Kaptein, who returned to the club this summer after spending last season on loan in her native Netherlands, was also named in the XI for her maiden outing as a Blue. The first goal of the Bompastor era was scored in the seventh minute when midfielder Erin Cuthbert played a defence-splitting pass through to Rytting Kaneryd, who slotted the ball into the bottom corner from inside the box, aided by a deflection off the Gotham goalkeeper. It was not all perfect, as Cuthbert sustained a knock after only 21 minutes and was named against Arnsela's squad. She also took on the captain role a lot last season, which is an integral part of the team's leadership, especially with younger midfield players looking up to her. With only one subsistence unused for Chelsea, Bompastor utilised all her outfield players throughout the match.
The game against Arsenal.
If there's one thing you can rely on me for, it's my distaste for Arsenal. Maybe it's because they have a Champions League, and we don't, or it's their fan base or just Katie McCabe causing injuries and hoak on the pitch, but a win over those Reds is a good day in the office for me. So even though coming into this game on paper, Arsenal should have won as they have not had pivotal changes in their team or coaching staff. This is a new Chelsea team after the 12-year reign of Emma Hayes, but the only person who can succeed after Hayes is Bompastor. However, this Chelsea signing dominated both sides. With it being an international friendly, there was a limit on subs, which was great for the new manager to see everyone play against top WSL opposition in a friendly setting and find her starting 11. The team that started the match for the Blues did not end the match. It is so beneficial around these international friends to get some miles under those legs and allow players to prove themselves.
Although this made the decision harder with Chelsea's depth, with others like Lauren James, Catarina Macario, and Sam Kerr not being part of the match-day squad, it shows that they are prepared for injuries to occur and have the talent to back that up. Lucy Bronze slotted perfectly in the backline like she had been there for years, with her compatriot Millie Bright not being tested defensively and pushing forward. The second recruit to make an impact was Sandy Baltimore, who scored within three minutes of the second half. The only actual threat from Arsenal that came with the first start was Rosa Kafaji, who proved herself to be a threat this coming season. With Chelsea ticking a young midfield with Wieke Kaptein and Malia Hamano, it seemed to work, which in the previous season had been an area of weakness for the Blues getting the ball forward; this caused Kim Little to be off guard.
Into the season ahead. We will see Sam Kerr's return to boost our attacking area, which has lent onto James, Beever-Jones, and Reiten since Kerr did her ACL in the January summer heat training camp in Morocco. The first game will be at home in Kingmeadow against Aston Villa, under new management and, like Chelsea, turning over a new leaf. Next is the newly promoted Crystal Palace away, which will present new, daunting challenges for our girls to get to grips with. At the moment, three league matches will be played at Staford Bridge. The first is that City fixture in November. Arsenal's visit in January and our final game of the campaign against Liverpool will also take place in SW6, which was the top 4 in the league last season and the teams that caused Chelsea the most problems in retaining the league.
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