It was not the preparation Sonia Bompastor would have wanted heading into her first Champions League game as Chelsea manager.
The postponement of the Blues’ Women’s Super League game with Manchester United, which had been due to take place on Sunday but was cancelled on grounds of player welfare, had significantly altered her preparation ahead of the visit of Real Madrid.
If that was not enough for Bompastor to contend with, a sickness bug had ripped through the Chelsea team in the days before the fixture.
Catarina Macario was one of the players affected, while Erin Cuthbert was absent from the squad after picking up a knock in training. Hannah Hampton, who was listed as a starting, was taken ill shortly before kick-off and replaced by Zecira Musovic in the line-up.
But despite those challenges, Chelsea came through their first group game with relative ease as goals from Sjoeke Nusken, Guro Reiten and Mayra Ramirez sealed a 3-2 victory. It would have been a more comfortable win for the Blues had they not twice lapsed in concentration when attempting to clear the ball in their own penalty area.
Sonia Bompastor secured her first Champions League victory as Blues boss on Tuesday
Chelsea had three different goalscorers as they eventually held on to beat Real Madrid
Sjoeke Nusken scored Chelsea’s opening goal as Real Madrid struggled to hold off their opponents
The low turn-out at Stamford Bridge, which had a capped capacity of 5,000, contributed to a largely flat atmosphere – which perhaps affected the overall quality of the game.
But Bompastor will just be happy to be off the mark. Her side could not have got off to a better start when they opened the scoring after just two minutes.
Johanna Rytting Kaneryd’s cross was flicked on by Nusken and deflected into her own net by Sheila Garcia. With Nusken’s effort going on target, the goal was officially awarded to the Chelsea midfielder.
Both teams had struggled to create many clear cut chances in the stages after the opening goal but Chelsea were gifted the chance to double their lead from the penalty spot just before the half-hour mark, with Maelle Lakrar was penalised for a clumsy challenge on Lucy Bronze.
Reiten stepped up to slot the ball into the bottom left corner past Misa Rodriguez to net her third goal in as many games.
But Real pulled a goal back just before half-time when Alba Redondo was the first to react to a loose ball in the penalty area, with the forward firing a shot underneath Musovic.
Chelsea’s slow reaction to the goal-mouth scramble had summed up the flat atmosphere in Stamford Bridge, but the hosts lifted the energy at the start of the second half with the best move of the game.
Bompastor (left) was congratulated by her side’s win by Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly (right) at full-time
Chelsea’s Mayra Ramirez scored her side’s third to complete a dominant showing at home
Lauren James found space on the right and sent in a perfectly weighted cross for Ramirez, who guided a header over Misa Rodriguez into the roof of the net.
Chelsea had been in control for most of the second half but Real were lifted by the introduction of Linda Caicedo from the bench and the Colombian midfielder ensured a nervy finish when she pulled a goal back in the 83rd minute.
Chelsea had several attempts to clear the ball before it dropped to Eva Navarro on the right. Her effort was blocked on the line by Bronze but Caicedo was the first to react and tapped in the loose ball at the back-post.
But that was as much as Real managed in the closing stages, as Chelsea shut up shop to claim their first three points of their European campaign.
