Bompastor insists Chelsea players 'don't really need me' as they extend winning run

Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor played down her influence after the Blues' dominant 6-1 victory at home to Twente in the Women's Champions League on Wednesday.

That win extended Bompastor's 100% record in charge of Chelsea, having won all 14 of her matches at the helm.

Unsurprisingly, that record has lifted Chelsea to the top of the Women's Super League, where they are five points clear of Manchester City, and their Champions League group, where they lead Real Madrid by three points.

"They don't really need me," Bompastor told the media when referencing her players after Wednesday's match.

"When you are a Chelsea player, you are a competitive player, you have a lot of ambitions. I'm trying to match my ambitions with their ambitions and make sure we're on the same page.

"It's also about making sure when we're in a game and if we concede a goal and are not leading, that we stay strong mentally. That's really important and that is the confidence I try to bring to my players.

"If something wrong or something bad happens in the game, that's fine, because we still have the talent and the quality to come back.

"We just have to stay strong individually and collectively to make sure we're all together to come back in the game."

MASSIVE WIN AT THE BRIDGE! #UWCL pic.twitter.com/iQcqzUBe35

— Chelsea FC Women (@ChelseaFCW) December 11, 2024

While Chelsea went a goal up after two minutes against Twente, they conceded from a penalty in the 29th minute to level things up. But just a minute later, Oriane Jean-Francois was on hand to get them back in front.

The result means they have now scored 17 times across five matches in Europe, though Bompastor thinks they could have had even more.

"It's always good for the confidence to score many goals," she said.

"Actually, I think we maybe could have scored a little bit more, but those goals are good for the confidence of the individuals and for the team.

"When we analyse the game, we will see good things in the final third and in the box. We were able to be efficient, but I think we still have room for improvement in that area."