Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.
Sonia Bompastor heaped praise on her young players after they helped secure Chelsea’s spot in the league phase of this season’s Women’s Champions League.
Keira Walsh scored the only goal as Chelsea beat Real Sociedad 1-0 at Estadio Izan on Wednesday, which sealed an emphatic 6-2 victory on aggregate.
Following a thumping 5-2 win in the first leg, Bompastor made four changes to her starting side, with Lucy Bronze, Kadeisha Buchanan, Wieke Kaptein and Lexi Potter coming in.
It took the Blues until the 18th minute to carve out the first opportunity, but Aggie Beever-Jones failed to connect with Ellie Carpenter’s teasing cross into the penalty area.
La Real then came close to clawing one back in the tie, only to see Ava Seelenfreund denied by a last-ditch tackle from compatriot Naomi Girma to keep the game goalless.
The breakthrough came from two-time Champions League winner Walsh, who took aim from distance and crashed a shot past Julia Arrula nine minutes after the restart.
Chelsea were able to restrict their opponents from finding a way back into the match from there and booked their place in Friday’s draw, which takes places in Nyon.
But when reflecting on her team’s victory, Bompastor singled out the young guns in her side, with teenagers Giulia Dragoni, Nelly Las and Chloe Sarwie all coming on to play their part in seeing out the win.
“I’m pleased with the result,” Bompastor said. “We kept a clean sheet, which is always important, and when you do that, you always have a bigger chance of winning games.
“I’m glad we could rotate the team with the starting XI, but also the players who came in.
“I think today we gave some really good opportunities for the young players to come and experience a Champions League game, so when you have the opportunity to do that, I think it’s always something really positive.
CHELSEA ARE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE! #UWCL pic.twitter.com/iT1mFP4WCn
— Chelsea FC Women (@ChelseaFCW) September 2, 2026
“I’m happy and really excited now to be in the Champions League this season. The goal was for us to qualify, which is what we have done.
“People will probably think when you are Chelsea, it’s easy to do, but we played against a really strong team in Real Sociedad.
“Over the two legs, they showed some really good quality, and I think these two games are really good preparation for us to come into the season in the league.”
In an encounter that lacked real quality in attack, Chelsea edged the expected goals (xG) battle, registering a total of 0.74 from nine shots to La Real’s 0.20 from four attempts.
The Blues, who have never won the competition, will now be drawn against six opponents in the league phase, and join Women’s Super League champions Manchester City and two-time winners Arsenal in the draw.
Paris Saint-Germain also ensured their name would be in the hat with a 5-1 thrashing of 10-man Eintracht Frankfurt, though they did need extra-time to get past their opponents and earn a 6-2 victory over two legs.
Real Madrid are through after beating Ajax 4-1 on aggregate after a 2-1 win in the second leg. Juventus downed St. Polten 4-1 on aggregate despite a 1-1 draw in the second leg.
Inter, meanwhile, progressed on penalties after overcoming a two-goal deficit in the first leg to win 3-1 in the second before winning 5-4 in the shoot-out to stun Wolfsburg.
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