While Sonia Bompastor acknowledged the importance of Chelsea’s 4-3 win over Aston Villa in the Women’s Super League on Sunday, she was less than impressed with her team’s defending.
Chelsea climbed above Arsenal and Manchester United to go second in the WSL table following Sjoeke Nusken’s 82nd-minute winner at Kingsmeadow.
The Blues are two points clear of both of those sides, though Arsenal have two games in hand and can be considered the frontrunners for Champions League qualification.
Though the result was the most important thing for Bompastor as her team try to salvage a top-three finish from a disappointing season, Chelsea’s defending left her irritated.
They conceded the opening goal after 100 seconds, with that the second-earliest goal they have ever shipped in a home WSL match, after Katie Zelem breached their defence after 55 seconds for Liverpool in May 2016.
Sunday’s game was poised at 3-3 by half-time, marking the first time in WSL history that both teams had scored three first-half goals in a single game, while Villa’s Lynn Wilms became the first player to record three assists in a match against Chelsea.
Speaking to Sky Sports afterwards, Bompastor said: “It was the most important thing for us to win this game. In terms of performance, Villa put the battle up there for us.
“They scored first, and I think we had a great reaction, from losing 1-0 to score three goals in the first half.
“If I’m being honest, it is not good enough for us to concede three goals. Villa only had three shots on goal and scored three in the first half, so we need to be better in defensive aspects, but in the end, we found a way to win the game.
“The winning goal was a big one for us. You could see the relief. Right now, the reality is that we are fighting for the Champions League spots, and this win is a huge win for us.”
Chelsea now turn their attention back to their Champions League quarter-final tie against Arsenal, though they face a 3-1 deficit going into Wednesday’s home leg.