Sonia Bompastor was left frustrated after Chelsea’s perfect start to the season was ended by Leicester City.
Bompastor, who replaced Emma Hayes as head coach in the summer, had won each of her first 14 matches in charge, including nine successive victories in the Women’s Super League (WSL).
There would not be a 10th, however, with Leicester full value for a 1-1 draw at the King Power Stadium after Missy Goodwin’s shock opener was cancelled out by Wieke Kaptein’s second-half strike.
Chelsea were far from their best and Bompastor told her players afterwards that they must produce more if they are to deliver on their ambition of defending their WSL title.
“For sure frustrated about the performance today,” Bompastor said. “When we talk about ambitions, we need to turn words into actions. I need my players to be ready from the beginning of the game.
“If you analyse this game, the first half was not intense enough from us. We did not show our intentions and I think we got punished for that. The second half was better — we created more chances and opportunities — but, we only scored one. We were not efficient enough to win this game.”
Goodwin gave Leicester a shock lead (Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
Chelsea had 82 touches in the Leicester box and registered 28 shots on goal but with only six of those on target Bompastor was disappointed her side did not make their talent advantage count.
She added: “I’m frustrated because we have talent in the team, but we didn’t show that in the first half. The players need to realise this is a competitive league and if you don’t show up from the start, you don’t get good results.
“It’s even more frustrating for me because when the other team plays a really good game, you have to give credit to them. I give credit to Leicester because they were strong defensive. They were all together and mentally tough.
“But, I think we have more talent than that. We had to be able to beat this team today and if you have ambitions to finish at the top of the table, you cannot drop points like we did in this game today.”
Chelsea’s final game before the midseason winter break comes away at Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday where Bompastor is expecting to see a response.
“It’s good now to see how we react,” she added. “How we analyse the performance and how we move forward. We are going to stay together no matter what. That’s really important.
“That’s easy when you win. When you drop points or when you lose the game, it’s also really important to stay together. We have one really important game before the end of the year.
“We need to have a good reflection on the game and move forward to play the last one. It will be an opportunity for us to react, get a win and be in a better place going into the winter break.”
(Top photo: Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
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