Chelsea's women's team, perennial champions of the Women's Super League, appear to be losing their clinical edge following a 1-1 draw with Liverpool and a draw against Barcelona in the Champions League. Manager Sonia Bompastor expressed frustration over the performances, highlighting a lack of ruthlessness despite creating ample chances. The team had set a WSL record of 34 consecutive unbeaten games before the international break.
Chelsea entered the international break with a historic milestone, achieving 34 consecutive unbeaten games in the WSL. However, their return has been marked by dropped points in back-to-back WSL matches and a stalemate against Barcelona in the Champions League, their fifth game in a 20-day period.
The 1-1 draw against Liverpool drew visible annoyance from Bompastor. "That's not the performance we wanted to put on the pitch. The performance was not good enough," she said. "We were not clinical enough." Similar sentiments followed the Barcelona game: "You have to be clinical... we won't give up on that aspect."
Data reveals inefficiencies at both ends of the pitch. Chelsea are spending more time in their defensive third, partly due to Bompastor's shift to a methodical build-up style, but also because opponents are pressing more effectively. Their negative expected goals (xG) differential stands at -3.58, indicating wastefulness despite creating more big chances than most teams. A poor duel win-rate suggests fatigue from competing in four tournaments.
Defensively, captain Millie Bright was dropped for the Barcelona match in favor of Nathalie Bjorn, Lucy Bronze, and Naomi Girma. Bompastor noted Bright's frustration, raising questions about her role with her contract expiring at season's end.
Up front, striker issues persist. Mayra Ramirez remains sidelined post-surgery, Sam Kerr has logged just 112 league minutes, and Aggie Beever-Jones is scoreless in her last seven games despite being joint-third in WSL scoring. Bompastor praised her effort but emphasized the need for goals. The team's top creators—Beever-Jones, Catarina Macario, and Erin Cuthbert—have missed 10 big chances, matching West Ham's poor xG differential.
With Kerr, Macario, and Guro Reiten out of contract soon, January spending may target forwards like Trinity Rodman or Midge Purce. Alyssa Thompson has impressed with her pace in big games.