Chelsea defeated Celtic 3-0 at Stamford Bridge to clinch a place in the quarter-final of the Women's Champions League.
Sonia Bompastor's team reeled off an impressive 11th successive victory in all competitions to complete a quickfire Euro double over Elena Sadiku's resilient Celtic side who remain pointless in Group B having scored just once and conceded 10.
First-half goals by Lucy Bronze and teenager Wieke Kaptein had the Blues 2-0 up and cruising at the break against the Scottish champions. It took until added on time before Chelsea added a third from the spot when Shannon McGregor was penalised for handball following Bronze's cross and Eve Perisset made no mistake from 12 yards.
If Chelsea needed any motivation in this match the players knew they only needed a point to guarantee a place in the last eight of the competition before kick-off.
Celtic head coach Sadiku made two changes to her side that lost 2-1 to Chelsea at Parkhead seven days ago. Out went Bruna Costa who was replaced by Caitlin Hayes in central defence and Colette Cavanagh came in for Natalie Ross in midfield.
Bompastor made six changes of her own as she demanded a lightning start from her charges. The French head coach got her wish as the Scottish champions conceded the opening goal after just 65 seconds of this contest.
Chelsea's Catarina Macario slung over a cross following a short-corner routine which was met by Bronze on the volley and despite Celtic goalkeeper Kelsey Daugherty getting a hand to the ball she could not prevent it from hitting the back of the net.
It was Bronze's first goal in the Champions League for Chelsea although she had previously netted in Europe for Barcelona, Lyon and Manchester City. Sadiku's team knew they were in for a long night in the English capital as Celtic struggled to get a foothold in the contest.
However, just as Celtic were enjoying their best spell in the game the hosts made it 2-0 on 25 minutes. Once again it was another short corner routine that did the damage for the visitors as 19-year-old Dutch international Kaptein netted her first-ever Champions League goal when she glanced home a superb header from Guro Reiten's delicious ball from the right.
In a rare foray up the park on 40 minutes Celtic's Amy Gallacher floated a beautiful pass into the path of Lucy Ashworth-Clifford but she was easily snuffed out by two Chelsea defenders before she could get a shot away.
Second-half Chelsea substitute Colombian international Maya Ramirez then tried her luck from eight yards but Hayes was on hand to put in a good block on 56 minutes. The same player was inches away from sliding home a third in the closing stages.
There was even time for Chelsea to throw on 17-year-old English football sensation Lola Brown for the last five minutes before Perisset put a bit more gloss on the scoreline with the late penalty counter.
In the end, it was Bompastor's side who booked a safe passage into the last eight. The Blues have made no secret of the fact that they have set their sights on dominating the women's game both domestically in the WSL and at Champions League level.
Bompastor also has form in this tournament after becoming the first woman to win the Champions League as both a player and as a manager following her European triumph with Lyon in the 2021/22 season.
The French head coach is desperate to repeat that feat with Chelsea who would dearly love to join Arsenal on the honours list with the Gunners being the only English side to win the Women's Champions League back in 2007.
Celtic's steep Champions League learning curve continued but Sadiku's outfit deserved a lot of credit for defending resolutely for large spells despite slipping to their third defeat in a row.
Whilst Celtic may still be novices at this elite level of women's club competition, one thing is for certain both the Swedish head coach and every member of her squad will be all the better for having enjoyed the experience of this European adventure moving forward.
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