For the last match of the calendar year, Chelsea take a trip to Spain to face Real Madrid in the final group stage match of the UEFA Women’s Champions League.
A draw will suffice for the Blues to finish at the top of the table. However, the weekend’s result, our first non-win under Sonia Bompastor’s management, could serve as motivation to fight for more than that.
Date / Time: Tuesday, December 17, 2024, 17.45 GMT; 12:45pm ET
Venue: Estádio Alfredo Di Stéfano, Madrid, Spain
Referee: Maria Sole Ferrieri Caputi (ITA)
Forecast: Mostly clear skies and light wind
On TV: DAZN (UK); none (USA); elsewhere
Streaming: DAZN (UK); DAZN (USA); YouTube (int’l)
Photo by Ross MacDonald/SNS Group via Getty Images
Real Madrid team news: As usual, Real Madrid are in good form, having lost just one game since we last faced them at the very beginning of the group stage. In fact, their only losses this season have been at Stamford Bridge, and in that 4-0 thrashing given to them by Barcelona last month.
Madrid manager, Alberto Toril was able to rotate his squad last weekend when they faced Deportivo Abanca in Liga F and though they left it late, the still beat team easily, 4-1. This means they will have a lot of fresh legs for this one, aside from Maelle Lakrar who’s been out of contention for a couple of matches due to injury.
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Photo by Harriet Lander – Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Chelsea team news: Chelsea’s performance against Leicester on Saturday left a lot to be desired, even beyond the disappointing 1-1 draw, but there’s no time or reason to dwell on that for too long. We simply need to do better today.
“We analysed the performance and we talked with the girls about it. We need to learn from that and move forward. This is not something we can control anymore because it’s in the past. [We] have the game tomorrow and that’s a new opportunity to focus on that game. We want to be ready to perform and to go on the Christmas vacations with a good result.”
-Sonia Bompastor; Source: Chelsea FC
Injuries remain a big issue, with Johanna Rytting Kaneryd now also added to our long list of absentees after picking up a calf problem over the weekend. The one bit of good news is that Sandy Baltimore has recovered from her injury and should be available for selection.
Previously: Goals from Sjoeke Nüsken, Guro Reiten and Mayra Ramírez helped us grab three points at the Bridge, despite Linda Caicedo’s late goal and Madrid’s subsequent push for a tie keeping us on the edge of our seats until the final whistle.
