“We’ll be a real contender” – Bronze on Chelsea Draw | OneFootball

Anne Butzelaar, Women's Football Editor

Lucy Bronze believes Chelsea showed enough in their 1-1 draw with Aston Villa to demonstrate their credentials for the season ahead, despite admitting the Blues need to become more ruthless in front of goal.

Chelsea began their Women’s Super League campaign with a frustrating afternoon at Stamford Bridge. Lauren James’ first-half strike appeared to have Sonia Bompastor’s side on course for three points, but an unfortunate Veerle Buurman own goal allowed Villa to equalise late on.

It was a difficult result to digest given the balance of the contest.

Chelsea controlled long periods, created chance after chance and repeatedly tested Akane Okuma, while Keira Walsh was denied by the crossbar. Yet their dominance produced only one goal.

For Bronze, the performance deserved considerably more.

“Overall today, the performance probably deserved the win,” she reflected after the final whistle. “But at the end of the day, we didn’t put the ball in the back of the net enough times, and that’s what football can do. It can get punched to the other side. That’s just what’s happened today. We’ve still got one point from the game and things to improve on. But overall, performance-wise, it was good. We just need to get the goals now.”

Finding the final piece

Chelsea’s inability to turn their opportunities into goals was particularly frustrating because of how regularly they managed to open Villa up.

Bronze herself threatened from distance during the opening stages, while James, Aggie Beever-Jones, Ellie Carpenter and others all had opportunities to extend the advantage.

Asked what had prevented Chelsea from finding the decisive second goal, Bronze jokingly pointed towards both Okuma and the goalposts before highlighting something potentially more significant.

Chelsea are adapting to a slightly different system, and Bronze believes there are still moments when the understanding between players needs to become instinctive.

“We’re playing a little bit of a different system,” she explained. “Maybe a slight bit of hesitation, but we created loads and loads of chances. I guess it’s just getting used to that clicking. I feel like once that moment kind of clicks and everybody’s on the same page at the right moments and the right times, games like today, we can kill that off in the first half.”

That provides both a source of frustration and encouragement.

Chelsea did not struggle to progress the ball or manufacture openings. Instead, the missing ingredient was the final action required to turn their control into a comfortable scoreline.

No excuses after European turnaround

Chelsea entered the game having only recently returned from European action in Spain, but Bronze refused to use the demanding schedule as an excuse.

The Blues played away in Europe on Wednesday before returning to Stamford Bridge for their league opener, leaving little recovery time between fixtures.

“Obviously, it’s not easy to be away in Spain and then play here today, but that wasn’t really a focus for us,” Bronze said. “It’s not something that we spoke about. We recovered well. We swapped a lot of players in and out.”

Chelsea’s energy levels backed up that assessment.

Their aggressive press repeatedly caused Villa problems, particularly during a dominant opening half in which the visitors struggled to play through Chelsea’s pressure.

James’ goal was the clearest example, with Carpenter winning possession high before finding the forward, who emphatically dispatched the opportunity.

Attention turns to Manchester United

Chelsea have little time to dwell on the disappointment, with a trip to Manchester United providing their next WSL test.

And while the finishing against Villa will inevitably be an area Chelsea look to improve, Bronze believes there were several aspects of the performance they should take directly into that encounter.

“I think an aggressive performance, high pressing, a lot of energy,” Bronze said when asked what Chelsea would take from the Villa game into next week.

“I felt like we had that today, considering we played two days ago as well. You still saw a lot of energy, particularly in the first half. I thought you saw a Chelsea team that was hungry, that was ready to go, ready to start the season on a high.”

That hunger will be important against United, but so too will learning from what went wrong against Villa.

Chelsea cannot afford to allow another game they control to remain alive because of missed opportunities. Against stronger opposition, the margin for error could become even smaller.

For Bronze, however, the Villa performance provided a blueprint in terms of Chelsea’s approach.

The intensity was there. The press was there. The energy was there.

Now, they need the efficiency to accompany it.

“So yeah, I think we’ll take that into the rest of the season, to be honest, and then fix small things in front of both goals, both defensive and attacking,” Bronze added.

“A real contender for all the trophies”

Despite dropping points at the first opportunity, Bronze’s confidence in Chelsea’s prospects remains undiminished.

The defender believes the foundations of another trophy-challenging side are already evident, even if there are details still to refine.

“And I feel like this team is just going to be a real contender for all the trophies this season,” she said.

It is a considerable statement of confidence after an afternoon that ultimately ended in frustration.

But Bronze’s assessment reflects the unusual nature of Chelsea’s draw.

There was plenty about the performance that looked like the foundation of a team capable of competing on several fronts: intensity without the ball, sustained pressure, attacking variety and the ability to create opportunities.

What was missing was the ruthless finishing required to make all of that count.

Chelsea therefore leave their opening WSL fixture with two points dropped, but not necessarily with their confidence diminished.

Next comes Manchester United, where Bronze and Chelsea will look to reproduce the aggression and hunger they showed at Stamford Bridge, while ensuring their dominance is reflected on the scoreboard.