Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.
Wieke Kaptein expressed her relief at beginning Chelsea’s Women’s Champions League campaign with a win after battling their way past Austria Wien on Wednesday.
Kaptein’s stunning 11th-minute goal proved to be the difference as Chelsea claimed a 1-0 victory, but tournament debutants Wien had several chances to at least earn a point.
After Alyssa Thompson shot wide shortly after Kaptein’s fine finish, Wien looked the more likely to alter the scoreline, bringing some good saves out of Livia Peng throughout.
Virginia Kirchberger turned over from close range before Louise Schoffel’s effort whistled past the bottom-left corner as the visitors started to dominate at the end of the first half.
Peng had to be on her toes to deny Valentina Potzl and Modesta Uka, with the latter also curling a shot onto the left post in Wien’s best chance of earning a deserved draw.
Sonia Bompastor’s side were only able to muster an expected goals (xG) total of 1.4 from their 13 shots, while Wien registered a tally of 0.9 xG from two more attempts.
Kaptein acknowledged the difficulties her side faced against Wien, suggesting that her team should have capitalised on their early dominance by scoring more.
“It was a tough game. They put pressure on us and made it a little bit more difficult,” Kaptein told Disney+.
“We could have scored more goals, and we needed to punish them more. Overall, we won, it’s good, and now we need to focus on the next game.
“For sure [relief]. In the last 10 minutes, we were fighting. We stuck together as a team, but we could have kept the ball a bit better.
“They are a good team, and they are not in the Champions League for nothing. They were really dangerous in our half. But we need to look at ourselves as we could have punished them a little bit more.”
STARTING OUR LEAGUE PHASE WITH A WIN! #UWCL pic.twitter.com/zhApU5tAwp
— Chelsea FC Women (@ChelseaFCW) September 23, 2026
Chelsea’s victory followed an unconvincing 2-0 triumph against Birmingham City in the Women’s Super League last weekend, which continued their unbeaten start in the league.
After beginning their campaign with a frustrating 1-1 draw with Aston Villa, the Blues thumped Manchester United 5-0 but have been far from their best in their last two matches.
They face their sternest test this Sunday against Arsenal, who are two points behind them in the WSL after taking five points from their opening three games.
However, Thompson believes their hard-fought victory against Wien is something Chelsea can build on ahead of their return to domestic action.
“The team came together in the end, and we fought as much as we could. It’s a good test for us, for our first game to have a physical battle,” Thompson said.
“We are going to play so many different teams and styles during the Champions League, so every test is great for us, and we came out with the three points, so it was a good win.
“The level dropped a little bit, and we were losing tackles, but we got back into the game and were ready for the physical fight.
“At that point, it turned into that, and we knew what game we had to play. We’re strong, and we know we can play different styles, so in the end we just had to fight it out.”
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