Sonia Bompastor believes Chelsea quadruple is possible after Subway League Cup victory

Yahoo

15-03-2025

By Laura Howard at Pride Park
Sonia Bompastor believes her Chelsea side have the quality to do the quadruple after they beat Manchester City to win the Subway Women's League Cup.
The Blues triumphed 2-1 at Pride Park through a Mayra Ramirez opener and Yui Hasegawa own goal to seal Bompastor's first trophy as Chelsea boss.
The victory kept hopes of a quadruple alive, with Chelsea undefeated in all competitions this season.
They play Manchester City a further three times in the next 12 days in the Champions League and Barclays Women's Super League and Bompastor is backing her side to go all the way, with her side also in the semi finals of the Adobe Women's FA Cup.
'We have a lot of quality,' she responded. 'But, again, when you reflect on the game, the other teams also have a lot of quality.
'It was tough today, but I think our mentality is the right one. We work really hard. Every time we step on the pitch, we just put our heart on the pitch, which is the right thing to do.
'There's fine margins and also small details going into these games, so sometimes it goes the way you want, sometimes not.
'Hopefully, for the next games, we'll have the game going where we want.'
🏆 @ChelseaFCW ARE THE 2025 #SubwayWLC WINNERS! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/xtbT2JKAFt
— Barclays Women's Super League (@BarclaysWSL) March 15, 2025
For the rest of Saturday, Bompastor can savour a hard-fought victory in front of 14,187 fans at Pride Park in Derby.
It is the first tangible reward the French manager has for what has so far proved a stellar first season in west London.
'It feels great. I'm really happy. I just said before the game, the most important thing is that we bring a trophy to the club,' she reflected.
'From the beginning of the season, we said we are really ambitious. When we have the opportunity to win the first title, that's always really positive. I'm really happy for that reason, but also really proud of my players.'
Yet while there was jubilation at the final whistle, Bompastor still feels there is room for improvement for her side who saw Ramirez and Johanna Rytting Kaneryd squander two brilliant chances that would have made the victory far more comfortable.
'The performance was maybe not a great one. But again, we found a way to win the game,' she said. 'I know this team has more than what we showed today.
'My first experience as a coach was head of the academy and the main thing there was to make sure the performance was the priority.
'When you play with these big clubs and with the first teams, your job as a manager is to make sure you win the games. That's the most important thing.
'I would love to have both. I would be the happiest person. But when it's not possible and when you have room for improvement, the one thing I would pick is winning.'
Golden Girls. 🏅 pic.twitter.com/LnSSNcwqrf
— Chelsea FC Women (@ChelseaFCW) March 15, 2025
It is reflective of the mentality that has powered Chelsea eight points clear in the league and makes them favourites to progress from their Champions League quarter final tie with City.
Their opponents were facing their first game under the charge of Nick Cushing following the dismissal of Gareth Taylor earlier in the week.
It was far from a concerning display for the Citizens but they lacked a clinical edge and only forced Chelsea out of a state of cruise control in the moments following their equaliser.
For Cushing, however, there were positive signs which he feels he can build on ahead of a further three meetings with the newly-crowned League Cup champions.
'We did enough to win the game today. We had many, many moments and I was proud of that,' he said.
'You could see some slight adjustments in the way that we want to play and that made us more of a threat.
'We have real belief that we could get back into the game after we were 1-0 down. We had a huge chance. I think these finals always swing on moments.
'Obviously the moment fell to Chelsea and we didn't get back in at 2-1. I've seen enough to know that we can be competitive in the next three games.'