CFCW Arsenal Sep 26
CFCW Arsenal Sep 26
Only three goals have been scored against us in our opening nine matches of the campaign. Three of those nine games have been against Manchester United, Arsenal and eight-time Women’s Champions League winners Lyon. Two more were a high-stakes knockout clash against Real Sociedad for a place in this season’s Champions League.
Fighting talk
Bompastor’s words reinforce the idea of a shift in focus this season. After the 1-0 win against Arsenal at Stamford Bridge, she said: 'We were also really strong in terms of the mental aspect, but also physical aspects: winning the duels and defending the box.
‘To not concede against an Arsenal side who are a strong team with great talent in the attacking line, midfield, the full-backs...everywhere, it's a great result and performance.'
And it shows up in our players’ post-match interviews, too. ‘We were ready for the physical fight,’ said Alyssa Thompson after a hard-earned 1-0 win over Champions League newbies Austria Vienna. ‘I feel great with the team that we have, and we know we can put up a fight and play in these physical games.'
After the victory over Arsenal, Keira Walsh explained, ‘We can control the ball, and we are also a lot more difficult to beat. We're really tight defending our box now. We know we can play with the ball, but now we can outwork and outfight teams. We do it as a team rather than individuals, and this year, we know we've got each other's backs. We're working for each other.’
The language in these interviews says it all: fighting, working, togetherness, strength. But it’s not just talk. The hard work is showing up in the physical data in key metrics.
Chelsea WSL & UWCL 2025/26 2026/27
Tackles per game 16.8 18.4
Interceptions per game 9.2 11.3
Duels won per game 42.3 48.6
Duel success rate 49% 54.1%
Fine margins
They may only look like small improvements to the naked eye, but when the margins between the top teams are so fine, they can be the difference between winning and losing. Those numbers represent a mountain of hard work from the team so far this season, and the success of this approach hangs upon every player buying into it.
Let's take a look at last season. Our run of six consecutive Women's Super League titles ended with a third-place finish in the league. Of course, our team was still stacked with talent, but that alone would no longer be enough.
Opposition sides had figured out they could earn results by playing the underdog role: working to win every single ball. Perhaps they couldn't beat us with talent, but they just might be able to earn something with intensity.
Our 1-1 draw with Liverpool last November shows this pattern. The home side made almost double the number of tackles, as well as more interceptions and duels won. They got their reward with a point, one of only 17 they earned after 22 games in 2025/26.
Liverpool Chelsea
Total duels 85 85
Duels won 57.6% 42.4%
Tackles 22 12
Interceptions 16 10
Difficult defeat
It wasn't just the teams lower down the table, either. A trip to the Etihad Stadium in February saw us lose 5-1 to title rivals Manchester City. It's not a game that Blues supporters will want to revisit, but the stats tell the story. It wasn't just about the goals. The home side won more duels and significantly more tackles to earn their scoring opportunities.
Manchester City Chelsea
Duels 69 69
Duels won 68.1% 31.9%
Tackles 17 8
Tackles won 9 3
Coming back stronger
In the old Champions League group stage format, we could've faced Lyon at home and away, accounting for a third of the points on offer over six matches. This season, we took on our high-level opponents as one of six matches in the new league phase of the competition. That means a point is likely enough, should we win our other games.
The timing of the fixture was difficult. Placed in the middle of a four-game run in the space of 11 days, the trip to France also came just three days after our 1-0 win over Arsenal at Stamford Bridge.
Our players looked exhausted at the final whistle after that victory in SW6, so it was tough to imagine they'd be able to put in a similar shift against Lyon. But that's exactly what we did, and the table below illustrates how we matched them in every physical metric on their turf on the back of the performance against Arsenal.
In comparison, the French champions were playing at home and had no league game to contend with the weekend before. Their previous outing was an 8-0 win against Servette in the Champions League on 23 September - they therefore faced us after a full week's rest.
Lyon Chelsea
Duels 97 97
Duels won 51.5% 48.5%
Tackles 21 19
Tackles won 13 12
Interceptions 15 14
Not only did we fight for our point, but we also recovered quickly as we returned to domestic action on Sunday. We took on a West Ham side determined to stop us, putting all 11 players behind the ball. The result? A 3-0 win. You can read how we did here.
We don't know what will transpire results-wise after the international break. But Chelsea supporters can rest easy knowing this team will be giving it their all in every match to come.