IN THE BALANCE: Chelsea v Real Sociedad preview

We get the lowdown on the high expectations of Chelsea’s Lucy Bronze and Sonia Bompastor – along with Real Sociedad midfielder Klára Cahynová – ahead of their two-legged UEFA Women’s Champions League qualifier.

There can’t be many head coaches and players with as much combined Champions League experience as Sonia Bompastor and Lucy Bronze, with not just Chelsea, but also the likes of Lyon and Barca on their UWCL resumés.

Playing in pre-season qualifiers, however, is new to both of them, so I quizzed first Bompastor and then Bronze about their expectations ahead of their two-legged clash with Real Sociedad, and whether this might actually kickstart their season…

SONIA BOMPASTOR

I wonder if it’s a bonus to have these actual competitive fixtures, while all the other teams in the league are faffing around with endless friendlies? You’re going to actually have a better start to the season?

Sonia Bompastor: Yeah, I hope so.

As you just mentioned, we are taking these two games as being really important for us because we need to win in order for us to be qualified for the group stage in the Champions League.

But as you just said, it’s good preparation because for these games actually we will need to be at our best in all the elements of the performance, tactical aspects, technical aspects, mental and physical aspects.

Yeah, it will be two really good games in order to prepare us for the league, coming soon.

We are taking them one by one, but we pretty much need to be ready to perform at our best with these two important games for us.

Have you ever played against Arturo Ruiz before, their head coach?

SB: No, I don’t think so.

So what do you expect from him?

SB: He is a Spanish coach, coaching a Spanish team, so I expect him to play a Spanish style.

They are really confident teams on the way they want to play on the pitch and they won’t change anything no matter who they are facing.

So I’m expecting them to come with their philosophy, confident with the ball, but also out of possession.

They have a really strong way to defend.

They are a really, really good team.

They had a really good pre-season with some of the games they played against strong opponents and they had good results.

The performances were good.

So we know we need to be at our best if we want to get good results against them.

LUCY BRONZE

Klara Cahynova obviously knows you and Keira, and I wonder what your impression is of Real Sociedad and how they’ve improved to get third spot?

Lucy Bronze: I mean, I remember playing Sociedad in Liga F and they were always a good team.

They always played good football.

I think obviously the powers of Barca… we had good results against them, but I always remember them being a really good team, something that me and Keira Walsh spoke about recently.

Like Sonia said, they’re a Spanish team, but I think it’s not just about being a Spanish team.

They do possess the ball, they do like to attack well.

I actually watched the game last year when they were playing Barca.

They defended really well, which isn’t the easiest thing to do against Barca when they were attacking and attacking and attacking.

So I think we’re expecting a tough game.

Finishing third in Liga F is definitely not easy because you’ve got your Barca and your Real Madrid above you.

But yeah, we know that they’re a good team.

We’re definitely not underestimating them.

I’m sure that they’re going to be really excited, really up for the game as well.

But we’ve prepared as best as possible to win tomorrow and to win the second leg to put us through in the Champions League, because ultimately, we want to try and win the Champions League… and that starts tomorrow.

You’ve been there, done that, got the t-shirt, Lucy, and I wonder what keeps you hungry for games like this?

LB: It’s playing football.

Obviously I’ve won a lot of trophies in my career.

And when I started playing football, I did it because I loved it.

I still love competing every day.

And my team lost today in training, and I was absolutely fuming. So it’s just instilled within me, being competitive, enjoying the game.

I always think I’ve got one of the best jobs… well, I think I have the best job in the world.

I get to go outside with my friends and kick a ball about.

So yeah, I think that enjoyment, that competitiveness that’s inside me, I don’t think it’ll ever die.

I still love the game and the game loves me.

So that’s what keeps me going every season.

KLÁRA CAHYNOVÁ

We also spoke to the Czech national captain, 30-year-old Klára Cahynová (above, right), who has 128 caps for her country and has been at Real Sociedad since 2024, after three seasons with Sevilla, so she knows the league – and opponents like Lucy Bronze and Keira Walsh – really well. Real Sociedad qualified for the Champions League, after finishing third in Liga F, just behind the eternal duo of Barcelona and Real Madrid.

As is customary, many of Sociedad’s players were snapped up in the summer transfer window, but they constantly replenish the squad with youth, to supplement the experience of veterans like Cahynová who says she sometimes feels “like their mum”.

Cahynová says that the club and their amazing fans – “we feel them in every game” – fully deserve to be in the Champions League, and states that defence is key to their success so far. Obviously, getting Chelsea in these qualifiers wasn’t the easiest draw, but Cahynová says: “I know that we are capable of doing great things as well.”

I spoke to an excited Klára Cahynová just ahead of the first leg:

I wonder if your vast international experience with Czechia helps feed into the Champions League and Liga F?

Klára Cahynová: I think so. I mean, I have a lot of experience from the national team, we have played many big games, I would say.

And we faced great opponents with the national team as well, you know, like Portugal, Switzerland, and we still did great. Everyone was telling us: oh, you’re gonna lose, and at the end, it’s different, you know, those games are different.

It’s not like a regular season game, so I think we have gained also experience here in Liga F in the last year when we were facing some teams, and for me, playing so many games with the national team helps me as well to perform better here in Liga F, and I hope in the Champions League as well.

Where do you think Sociedad can surprise Chelsea, maybe? Are there things about the team that might surprise them?

KC [laughs]: Yeah, but I would like to keep them for ourselves, you know, I’m not gonna tell you how we can surprise them.

But we know what we have to do, we know how we can surprise them, so we’re gonna aim for that, for sure. But like I said, I’m gonna keep them for myself.

And how does your head coach, Arturo Ruiz, keep the team improving?

KC: Well, he’s really demanding. We did a great job last year, but every single week, he wants more, he teaches us new things, but not just him, the whole coaching staff.

They do everything they possibly can to prepare us for each game. He always comes with a great plan for the game.

All we have to do is stick to the plan and believe in it, and then let’s see what happens.

Photos: Real Sociedad, Helen M Jerome