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Chelsea head coach Sonia Bompastor is looking for a positive reaction from her side when they face Crystal Palace at Kingsmeadow this evening.
The Blues were defeated for just the second time in Bompastor’s tenure as they went down 4-1 to FC Barcelona in a UEFA Women’s Champions League semi-final, first leg tie on Sunday.
Chelsea must now look to recover quickly from that heavy loss and head coach Bompastor expects a reaction against struggling Crystal Palace.
“This team is not used to losing games,” Bompastor said when speaking in the pre-match press conference. “What maybe hurts the most is conceding four goals. It’s not usual for us but now, we are in a situation where we have to show a reaction and bounce back. That’s part of football, it’s really painful but we need to show a reaction.
“The good thing is we have the game [against Crystal Palace], so it’s a quick turnaround. It’s an opportunity for us to look ahead, think of the future and be positive.”
Crystal Palace go into this evening’s fixture bottom of the Barclays Women’s Super League table. While The Eagles are relegation-threatened, Bompastor sees their qualities, especially in transition.
She said “When we played them in the FA Cup quarter-finals at home, we only won by one goal. We created many opportunities, we scored one goal but were unable to score any more.
“They’re a team that are very well-organised defensively and they will be waiting to transition on us with some quick players upfront. This is what we expect in this game.
“It’s always difficult when you play a low block. You need to make the difference, you need to be clinical to score and don’t give the opposition any hope. If they have the opportunity to transition, they will be good enough to do that. We will need to be strong out of possession defensively to not concede any goals.”
Bompastor went on to say that her side will need little picking up from their defeat last time out. The Blues have their eyes set upon Barclays Women’s Super League glory once again.
She said “It’s back to the league, a different competition. We are top of the table, we are ambitious and we want to move six points clear of Arsenal. If we win and get three more points, we will get closer to the title, so it’s enough motivation for all of us to compete in the game.”
Chelsea’s Barclays Women’s Super League fixture against Crystal Palace kicks-off at 7.15pm this evening. Tickets remain on-sale and can be purchased by clicking here.
