“Questions Will Be Asked” of Chelsea’s Sonia Bompastor After Disappointing Draw at Twente

Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor faces scrutiny following her side’s underwhelming 1-1 draw against Twente in their Women’s Champions League opener, with former England forward Lianne Sanderson warning that “questions will be asked” about team selection and approach.

The Blues entered the match as favourites, having dominated Twente in previous group-stage meetings last season, scoring nine goals across two encounters. Chelsea supporters, already eager for a first-ever European title, had hoped for a statement win following Barcelona’s emphatic 7-1 victory over Bayern Munich earlier in the week. Instead, Chelsea were forced to settle for a point, with Sandy Baltimore’s 71st-minute penalty cancelling out Danique van Ginkel’s opener for the Dutch side.

Despite Bompastor’s remarkable record as Chelsea boss—38 wins, five draws, and only three defeats in 46 games—Wednesday’s performance was described by Sanderson as “disjointed.” She attributed the lacklustre showing to the seven changes made to Chelsea’s starting XI compared with Friday’s Women’s Super League draw with Manchester United. Only Ellie Carpenter, Millie Bright, Baltimore, and Aggie Beever-Jones retained their starting positions.

“Questions will be asked of Sonia because this is the competition all Chelsea fans want to win. It’s only one game, but you look at other teams, like Barcelona, and they got off to a flyer,” Sanderson said on Disney+. “Bompastor made too many changes. It looked disjointed. Too many changes, the chemistry wasn’t there. A lot of the players that started had minimal minutes. Fans will feel frustrated. Twente deserved that. Most people expected Chelsea to go on and win it, so fair play.”

Sanderson further emphasized the pressures on Bompastor, who must balance squad rotation with the need to maintain cohesion. “Ultimately, Bompastor is going to have to make some difficult decisions in all competitions. She is still trying to find her best XI. She can’t keep everybody happy. Tonight it was the wrong team selection. They took Twente lightly and Twente deserved it more.”

Chelsea’s Performance: Stats vs. Results

In terms of statistics, Chelsea dominated large periods of the match. They registered 20 shots to Twente’s nine and maintained 64% possession. Guro Reiten had several chances, Alyssa Thompson’s second-half strike was ruled out for offside, and both Sjoeke Nusken and Baltimore forced impressive saves from Diede Lemey. Maika Hamano also squandered a golden opportunity after a well-timed pullback from Oriane Jean-Francois.

However, the Blues converted only one of six shots on target. Bompastor admitted the performance in front of goal was not sufficient for a Champions League fixture.

“It’s not a good result at all. We wanted to start the campaign with three points and a victory. Out of possession, I’m quite happy with the performance, even if we conceded a goal. In possession, you need to show more desire, especially when you are in the box. We created a lot of opportunities and couldn’t score more than one. In the first half, we had multiple situations in the box and 18 crosses, but only six times we were first on the ball. This is not good enough when you play a Champions League game,” Bompastor said.

Baltimore’s penalty, while salvaging a point, also highlighted Chelsea’s continued struggles with converting chances. The result prevented them from suffering their first defeat in all competitions since April 2025 but left plenty of room for improvement as the Blues aim to secure a first European trophy.

Positive Takeaways

Former England midfielder Fara Williams acknowledged Chelsea’s resilience despite their failure to secure a win.

“The positive they can take is they come away with a point. The important thing is they put points on the board. They did that in coming back and showed they can stay in games and they are not easy to beat. It wasn’t the three points they wanted but it certainly was a point that will be crucial come the end of the group stage.”

Bompastor echoed this sentiment, urging her players to learn from the experience and focus on upcoming fixtures. The team returns to domestic action against Tottenham in the Women’s Super League on Sunday, and Chelsea will hope to regain momentum and sharpen their attacking efficiency.

Pressure to Win Europe

Despite the encouraging aspects of Chelsea’s performance, the stakes in the Champions League are high. Sanderson emphasized the expectations surrounding a club with significant investment but without a European title.

“It’s a non-negotiable that Chelsea win the Champions League this year. It won’t be easy, but the amount of investment they’ve had, they have to win this competition,” she said.

With Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Lyon, and PSG establishing themselves as European heavyweights, Chelsea cannot afford repeated lapses. Balancing squad rotation, injuries, and competition demands will be crucial for Bompastor as she looks to finally guide the Blues to European glory.

The draw against Twente serves as an early warning for Chelsea: while talent and depth are evident, team chemistry, selection strategy, and clinical finishing will determine whether Bompastor’s side can go all the way in the Champions League. With fans and pundits watching closely, the manager’s decisions in the coming weeks will be under intense scrutiny.

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