Sonia Bompastor says Chelsea’s ‘big aim’ this season is to win all 22 games in the Women’s Super League, and after eight wins from their first eight matches, it’s not looking entirely unachievable.
Chelsea appears to have made a seamless transition since Bompastor took over from Emma Hayes this summer. The Blues are at a streak of 12 wins in all competitions, and in the WSL, remain the only team unbeaten.
“That is our big aim,” Bompastor replied when asked about the possibility of an ‘Invincibles’ season.
“It’s what we work hard for, but it will be difficult, for sure, because as you go everyone wants to beat you. The club is used to that.
“Every single game we have the mentality that we want to win, but we just make sure that we have a good game plan and we play the way we want. It will be difficult, but that’s one of the things we want to achieve.”
Since the league kicked off in September, Chelsea have been nothing short of impressive, but their next match presents a unique challenge in Brighton, flying under the helm of Dario Vidosic.
The Seagulls currently sit third in the table with five wins from eight, making them a stronger force than many were anticipating.
“Brighton started this season really strong,” said Bompastor on Friday morning.
“I think they have a team and a squad who have a lot of experience, experienced players and great results. They are in a good dynamic, so we expect a hard game for us.”
She later added: “Brighton are a team who really have the confidence. They want to build up from the back line and the ‘keeper, which is something I really love as a manager.
“Even on the game against Arsenal, when they were losing by goals, they were still trying to build up from the back line. I think that’s really good for the women’s game to have this type of philosophy.”
‘WSL is the most competitive league’
Chelsea’s complete domination of the league has been a delight for their fans to watch across the years, let alone the last couple months, but for everyone else, it’s hard to make the same case.
“Even though Arsenal have three season titles, Liverpool two and Manchester City one, they all fall far short of Chelsea’s eight. The rest of the league has seemingly been cut adrift,” wrote the Guardian earlier this week.
“A major issue is the growing disparity across the WSL… Chelsea’s dominance is real and it should serve as a wake-up call for the league.”
But speaking to the media on Friday, Bompastor remained unstirred from her belief that the WSL is the most competitive league in Europe, maybe even the world.
She said: “Even if we are winning every game, it’s not that easy. It’s tough. When you analyse the game, I think, yeah, it doesn’t come like this. And coming from a league where you were really, really dominating the league, it’s really different here.
“You have to make sure you get everything right to have the three points. It’s not that easy when you look at the other teams, of course, they have a lot of quality, lots of talent in the squads.”
She added: “It just shows Chelsea is doing well in a good dynamic again. We’ll see if we are able to maintain that level for all the season.
“It’s too soon for every person to say, ‘yeah, Chelsea will be champions.’ It’s not possible to say that at this moment in the season.
“Even if we are successful at the moment, you never know what can happen. So as Chelsea manager, I just stay on my toes. I just make sure we work really hard and we keep the right mentality to stay in the best position.”
Featured image courtesy of Steven Taylor.