“Vive la Révolution,” read the new banner amid faded neighbours behind the Chelsea goal in the first half, with a picture of Sonia Bompastor looking to the sky beneath the words. The Chelsea manager’s reign began with a 1-0 win against an Aston Villa side who likewise had someone new at the helm and top-six ambitions. Johanna Rytting Kaneryd’s first-half goal was the difference between the sides, though Villa came close to an equaliser in added time when their goalkeeper Sabrina D’Angelo came up for a free-kick and her header was tipped on to the bar and over.
Bompastor had said time and again in pre-season that she wants her Chelsea side “to be a dominant team”. They delivered in the summer, but would it translate to competitive play? Would the transition from Emma Hayes, in charge for 12 years, to the French winner of the Champions League (as a player and as a manager) affect their fluidity and dominance?
