‘We are ready to embrace the challenge’ – Bompastor confident in Chelsea’s ability to overturn deficit | OneFootball

Chelsea head coach Sonia Bompastor says that her side are ready to attempt to overturn their two-goal deficit against Manchester City in their UEFA Women’s Champions League quarter-final tie.

The Blues were defeated 2-0 in the first leg at The Joie Stadium a week ago. The two sides will now contest the second leg at Stamford Bridge on Thursday evening.

When speaking in the pre-match press conference, Chelsea boss Bompastor said that her side are ready to embrace the challenge of overturning the two-goal deficit.

“It is always more difficult to come back when you are losing by two goals but we are confident, we are playing a home game,” Bompastor said. “It’ll be tough and difficult, we know that, but we are ready to embrace the challenge.

“I think this is what this squad and club are about, the players and staff are so competitive. It’s a new challenge; we have not been in this situation this season before, but we are ready. I just want my players to not have any regrets at the end of the game and this is what we want to go for.”

The UEFA Women’s Champions League is the one trophy that has escaped Chelsea’s grasp so far. The club’s quarter-final, second leg tie is a huge game, but Bompastor is feeling calm and has full confidence in her players.

She said “I didn’t feel any different preparing for this game compared to the previous ones. Again, we need to believe, we need to be confident going into the game. I already know that we have the quality in this squad to turn things around, so it’s about executing that. It won’t be easy, but we are confident enough with the quality in the squad to turn things around.

“For me, I just want us to attack the game and make sure we have no regrets at the end. Hopefully, the result will be positive.”

Chelsea had to come from behind to defeat Manchester City 2-1 in a Barclays Women’s Super League fixture at the weekend. In three consecutive meetings with The Cityzens, the South West Londoners have been pushed to the limit, but Bompastor has been pleased with the performances overall.

She said “Yeah, we won [on Sunday], so that’s the most important thing. You have to realise that we are facing some good teams and Man City is one of them. They have a lot of quality, so being able to beat them in a final and in the league is a good result.

“We know what we have to do tomorrow. They won the first leg by two goals and we are in that situation but we are confident enough in ourselves to turn things around.”

Chelsea’s UEFA Women’s Champions League quarter-final, second leg tie against Manchester City kicks-off at 8pm on Thursday evening. Tickets remain on-sale and can be purchased by clicking here.