Chelsea 3-2 Real Madrid: 3 positives and 2 negatives for Sonia Bompastor to address

The new era at Stamford Bridge was kickstarted in the UEFA Women's Champions League this week as Chelsea triumphed 3-2 over Real Madrid. Goals from Mayra Ramirez, Guro Reiten and Sjoeke Nusken ensured Sonia Bompastor's Blues got off to a perfect start on a wet Tuesday night.

A great majority expect the WSL champions to fly the flag for England in the competition. Most will have them amongst the favourites, alongside current title holders FC Barcelona and perennial champions Olympique Lyonnais. However, Bompastor is a realist and will know that although the points are welcome, Chelsea's performance overall was below par considering expectations.

Chelsea 3-2 Real Madrid: Positivity for the Blues

1) Winning ugly

No one would describe Chelsea's performance as beautiful. In tough and wet conditions, both teams struggled to really get going. However, Chelsea's incisiveness in and around the box caused all three goals. The English club were able to successfully deal with the physicality and aggression of their Spanish counterparts and although there were very few moments of quality throughout the game, there were more flashes from players in blue than those in orange.

Being able to grind out results was a hallmark under Emma Hayes , and in her opening fixtures, Bompastor has shown that this aspect of Chelsea's play remains evident.

2) Consistently effective wing play

Johanna Rytting Kaneryd was able to constantly get in and exploit Olga Carmona's defensive frailty throughout the 90 minutes. The Swedish winger tormented the fullback with a blend of pace and skill and left her on the ground in the build-up to the first goal. In particular, her link-up play at times with Ramirez, Lauren James and Lucy Bronze created neat moves down Chelsea's right-hand side.

In the second half, Bompastor's side did show more versatility with their attacks, utilising the speed of Sandy Baltimore, deployed in a surprising left fullback role. In the first half, this combatted the threat of Athenea Del Castillo. At the beginning of the second half Baltimore was instead able to maraud down into the middle and attacking third more. This in turn allowed Reiten to occupy half-spaces and that disruption meant that Real had to commit a central defender to deal with the Norwegian. This shift created additional space for Ramirez upfront.

3) A new midfield combination

After impressing in pre-season, Wieke Kaptein made her first start for the WSL champions against Las Blancas. The young Dutch midfielder showed supreme composure and control, particularly in the first half against the experienced Melanie Leupolz and was able to help Chelsea disrupt a number of Madrid attacks. Although she did make some mistakes due to her inexperience, including giving the ball away in the build-up to Madrid's opening goal, it was a very solid first full outing.

Her partner Nusken enjoyed a more free role, moving forward into the attack and at times acting as an extra centre-forward. It was this movement that led to her being in the right place to open the scoring, and overall the two proved extremely effective in the absence of regular stalwart Erin Cuthbert.

Chelsea 3-2 Real Madrid: Causes for concern

1) Ponderous defending

It is an understatement to say both Real Madrid goals could have been presented. The first goal saw Bronze and Kaptein both fail to deal with an initial drive from Carmona. The cross was cleared only as far as the other side, and again Baltimore should have been closing down. The delivery back in should also have been cleared, but instead Alba Redondo was able to drill a low strike past Zecira Musovic, who will also be disappointed to have not stopped it.

The second goal was equally poor, with James failing to intercept pinball around the box before captain Millie Bright missed her clearance. Substitute Ashley Lawrence did not prevent the cross, and although Bronze blocked on the line, a combination of Musovic and Nathalie Bjorn could not stop Linda Caicedo prodding the ball home. Chelsea will know if they give away goals from that much sloppy, ponderous defending, they will be punished against better sides.

2) Inconsistent intensity

Bompastor was keen to address that although she was happy with the result, the overall performance did not hit the required standards. The Blues did give possession up a lot in the first half in particular, and clearly felt the effect of the heavy pitch. Being caught in transition a number of times, they were saved by either poor decisions in the final third by Madrid, or alternatively a well-marshalled offside trap. Although this did improve in the second half, particularly in the opening 15 minutes, the game was allowed to drift too much. Against more streetwise opponents, they will struggle to regain control if they take a similar lackadaisical approach.

Chelsea will hope to put these issues behind them during an intensive next ten days, including a trip to rivals Arsenal and an away game against FC Twente , before hosting Tottenham Hotspur at Kingsmeadow.