Chelsea overturned a slow start to defeat Real Sociedad 5-2 in the first leg of their Women's Champions League qualifier, with debutant substitute Melvine Malard scoring twice as the Blues put themselves in a commanding position ahead of next week's return fixture.
Playing at the Cherry Red Records Stadium, which will serve as Chelsea's home venue for domestic cup matches this season while WSL fixtures remain at Stamford Bridge, the hosts looked far from sharp in the opening exchanges. Their preparation had included a commercially driven pre-season tour of New Zealand and Australia, which may not have offered the ideal buildup for a competitive European fixture.
Real Sociedad, by contrast, arrived with confidence built on a solid pre-season that included a 1-1 draw against reigning eight-time European champions OL Lyonnes. That sharpness showed early when the Spanish side took the lead through summer signing Ainhoa Marín, who joined from Deportivo. Marín found space unmarked at the far post to convert a looping header after a corner was initially cleared only to the edge of the box.
Chelsea responded before the interval, equalizing in the 30th minute when Katie McCabe's corner appeared to deflect off captain Naomi Girma on its way into the net.
The contest shifted dramatically after halftime. Chelsea emerged with renewed intensity, and Lauren James set up Veerle Buurman to head Chelsea in front. However, Real Sociedad hit back within four minutes when Cecilia Marcos capitalized on a loose ball that fell to her after a sliding challenge from Buurman, firing past goalkeeper Hannah Hampton to level the score again. Marcos, who has battled back from consecutive anterior cruciate ligament injuries in 2021 and 2023 before rediscovering her best form last season, was mobbed by teammates who rushed from the bench to celebrate with her.
Despite the setback, Chelsea's superior depth and experience began to tell as Real Sociedad's high defensive line grew increasingly vulnerable to fatigue. Twelve minutes after coming on, Malard made her mark on her Chelsea debut, latching onto a clever through-ball from Sjoeke Nüsken, cutting inside a defender and calmly slotting past the advancing goalkeeper into an empty net.
James added a fourth soon after, turning home a low cross from Ellie Carpenter to give Chelsea breathing room. Carpenter then provided another assist late on, teeing up her former Lyon teammate Malard for a second goal that sealed a 5-2 victory and put Chelsea firmly in control of the tie heading into the second leg.
The result came under the guidance of assistant coach Camille Abily, who took charge in place of head coach Sonia Bompastor, who was serving a one-match suspension following a red card picked up in last season's Champions League quarter-final second leg against Arsenal.
"It was a tough game, a tough first half because Real Sociedad is a really great team but I think we had a good reaction," Abily said after the match. "We were so much better in the second half, there was more space also. It's a good win – a tough win but a good win."
Asked whether facing high-level competition so close to the start of the new domestic season would benefit her squad, Abily pointed to the value of genuine match intensity. "For sure. We saw we started slow. We started slow, even though we've played some friendly games. We also played against the boys last week. It's not the same though, it's not competition. It's important to have this kind of game," she said.
Chelsea will look to close out the tie next week holding a three-goal advantage as they push toward the league phase of the competition.
Based on reporting from Guardian Football.