Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.
Ellie Carpenter hailed Chelsea for sticking together and coming from behind to beat Real Sociedad, putting them on the brink of a Women’s Champions League place.
Having finished third in the Women’s Super League last season, Chelsea are going through qualifying to try and book their place in the Champions League proper.
They seemingly have one foot in the competition after recording a 5-2 victory over La Real in the first leg of the third qualifying round.
Melvine Malard enjoyed a dream debut for the Blues, having joined from Manchester United earlier this summer, scoring twice to boost Chelsea’s hopes.
Sonia Bompastor’s side found themselves behind after just seven minutes as Ainhoa Marin’s curling finish gave La Real the lead, but Naomi Girma cancelled that out on the half-hour mark.
Veerle Buurnam then gave Chelsea the lead, only for Cecilia Marcos to pull La Real level, but Malard’s 55th-minute introduction off the bench gave them the boost they needed.
The Frenchwoman scored a brace on either side of Lauren James’ strike to put Chelsea in a commanding position ahead of the second leg next week.
“It was a great team performance,” Carpenter, who got two assists, told the club’s media. “It was a bit rusty at the start, but that’s always going to be the case in our first game of the season.
“I think we came out and we really stuck together and got that result. Our goal was to score as many times as we could, and we really produced that in the second half.
“I’m proud of the team for coming back and finishing strong.”
— Chelsea FC Women (@ChelseaFCW) August 26, 2026
On Malard’s debut, she added: “You can see her impact. She’s an amazing footballer. She brings energy. She’s a finisher.
“You put the ball there, she’ll finish it. She’s a great addition to the team. Really proud of her for making her official debut, so hopefully there’s a lot more goals to come for her.”
The second leg takes place in Spain next Wednesday before their WSL campaign gets under way against Aston Villa three days later.
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