Sonia Bompastor: Chelsea’s new manager on replacing Emma Hayes & how to stop Man City’s Bunny Shaw | Football News

Sonia Bompastor has made quite the perfect start as Chelsea Women’s manager, but on Saturday she and the Women’s Super League champions face their toughest test of the season so far when Manchester City visit Stamford Bridge for what is already a title decider. :

Bompastor replaced Emma Hayes at Chelsea last summer when she left to lead the United States national team, having just guided the club to its sixth straight WSL crown, a task that would have put many off, but not for 44 years.

Bompastor, of course, knows all about silverware from her time in France, becoming the first woman to win the Champions League as a player and manager with Lyon, winning a total of 11 major titles in two spells at the club before claiming three consecutive league titles and 2021-22 Champions League trophy as manager.

“I’m used to that (pressure) as a former player,” he said Sky Sports. “I’ve done it my whole career and my whole life. I think it keeps me motivated by being under pressure.

“I really love it. It’s what I love. It’s a job where you have a lot of responsibility. You just have to deal with it and accept it and go with it.”

And boy did Bompastor rise to the challenge of taking on the seven-time WSL title as the new manager has won every match he has taken charge of this season, including a first win at the Emirates and the club’s first away win over Arsenal since 2020; in fact, if Chelsea beat City, he would become the first manager in WSL history to win his first seven games.

So much so that, as with Arne Slott at Liverpool, he has so far made the so-called impossible job of replacing an iconic manager look relatively simple as Chelsea top their Champions League group and trail City by a point, but have played is one point less game than their competitors.

Not that the modest Bompastor sees it that way, preferring to praise Hayes for the state of the club he handed over.

“Emma just left the club in a great place, a good legacy for me,” he said.

“You just connect your game model with your team and make sure you work around it so that they feel comfortable playing the way I want them to, that they understand my vision and my game model.

“But also, I’ve got a team with a lot of quality, a lot of talent, and I’ve just got to give them a lot of credit for that, because they’re the ones who are on the pitch, they’re the ones who are performing. So, getting good results. yes, it’s very simple, even if behind the scenes, of course, it’s difficult, because you never delay your brain.

“It’s 24 hours a day, seven days a week. So it’s tough, but it’s my passion and I’m really enjoying being Chelsea manager.”

It’s 24 hours a day, seven days a week, so it’s tough, but it’s my passion and I’m really enjoying being Chelsea manager.

The reason for such a smooth transition is that, apart from Bompastor taking charge of the club in rough health, Chelsea’s players are ready to embrace new ideas, while the new manager himself has also wisely opted for small, subtle changes , which was already a well-oiled machine rather than a total overhaul.

“The main thing is that I try to find a good balance between making changes and respecting the environment that the players have been working on,” Bompastor said. “I think as humans, change can be a bit of a challenge. And I know that because I’m human too. So finding a good balance is probably the right thing to do.

“But I can’t be someone else. I have to be myself, with my values, with my vision. So maybe the main thing is to try to change some small things, but to try to make my players involved into the changes and trying to explain to them why, I think that’s part of the success of the process.

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“So I tried to explain why I wanted to change. I explained to them the model of my game. And I always try to involve them in my thinking. It’s something that helps the players understand , and I think they, as women, like to be part of the process.”

That process is made smoother when you look at the full body of work that has brought Bompastor to west London, including more than 150 caps for France.

“They like to understand why we make certain changes,” he said. “And of course the fact that I was a player and I had success in my career as a player and as a coach probably helped me a lot in the beginning. trust.”

That will only get you so far though and ultimately you need wins to show what you’re talking about and he has them in spades.

“But then, in the long run, even if you have your credibility in the beginning, you just have to show your credentials,” he said. “So I try to do that. And winning is a useful thing.”

It’s also vital to have stability off the pitch too, and with four young children, Bompastor is delighted that he and his family have adapted so quickly to life in London.

“I fit in really well,” he said. “The club supported me in the right way. So I felt the support and the right support to settle in really quickly.

“With the family we settled in well, again with the support of the club, I think it’s a challenge for the family, for me individually but also for the kids.

“They still think about their friends there, about the school. Also, because we lived more in the country side of France. Here we live more in the center of London.

“I feel lucky to have the opportunity to be Chelsea’s coach and also to give my family and my children the opportunity to experience this. So it’s all positive. And I’m someone who embraces things as well : in a positive sense.”

On the pitch, however, Bompastor’s side have a strong chance of challenging for the title when they face leaders Manchester City in front of an expected 20,000 crowd at Stamford Bridge on Saturday night in what some are already calling a title decider.

These two sides competed until the last game of last season, with Chelsea eventually crowned champions on goal difference only from Manchester City.

But while the duo have already opened up a significant gap over their rivals, Bompastor doesn’t see this season’s title race as just a two-horse race.

“In terms of results it looks like that and if you look at the table for sure,” he said. there are many games to play.

“And this league is so competitive, especially because Manchester City, Arsenal and we are going to play in the Champions League again until the end of December. So it will be difficult for us to play these Champions League games and every one the team might lose some points in that respect, so it’s too early to say anything about the title.”

However, if Chelsea are to emerge victorious at the Bridge, they will need to keep tabs on Manchester City striker Khadijah ‘Bunny’ Shaw, the WSL’s top scorer with seven goals to her name already this season, which is more easier said than done.

The Jamaica international has been in unstoppable form in front of goal for Gareth Taylor’s side again this campaign, and in another capital this weekend he will continue to be level with Chelsea’s Sam Kerr for 57 career WSL goals.

So how are you going to stop the rampaging Shaw?

“We know that even sometimes he’s a bit quiet, he can just do one thing and score,” said Bompastor, referring to Shaw’s recent brace, including a stunning stoppage-time winner that turned the game around at Anfield as the winner. the guests won an important victory with a score of 2-1.

“He’s efficient, he’s really strong. That’s when you play against the best teams, you expect to have a player who can make the difference with one move and make a big impact.

“So we’re ready for it and we know we have to play really well if we want to win.”

Anyway, we’re set for a rousing, top-of-the-table clash with a packed house and Sky Sports The capital’s television cameras are on Saturday night football.

Watch Chelsea v Manchester City live on Sky Sports Premier League & Football on Saturday from 5.30pm,