Bompastor's left-back headache as Baltimore impresses and Charles returns

Chelsea's makeshift left-back has been one of the stories of the season so far but the return of Niamh Charles throws up questions for Sonia Bompastor

Sandy Baltimore pushes off a challenge from Jess Park in Chelsea’s 2-0 win over Manchester City. Credit: Chelsea Women.

Sandy Baltimore’s Player of the Match award for Chelsea in their 1-0 win against Manchester United on Sunday was the culmination of an impressive start to life in the WSL for the 24-year-old.

Having joined from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer, Baltimore has started ten of Chelsea’s 12 games this season, although not necessarily in the position that might have been predicted.

Baltimore had predominantly played on the wing or as a number 10 before coming to Chelsea, but a pre-season injury to Niamh Charles has seen her used at left-back.

Manager Sonia Bompastor wasn’t short of options in finding cover for Charles. Eve Perisset and Ashley Lawrence have both been available, as they can’t push Lucy Bronze out at right-back, whilst Alejandra Bernabe, who also arrived in the summer from Real Sociedad, offered a natural left-back option.

The decision from Bompastor to use Baltimore reflects how she views the role of the left-back in her team.

“I have known Sandy a long time,” Bompastor said following the Manchester United game. As Lyon academy manager, Bompastor regularly came up against Baltimore when she was coming through at PSG, before obviously seeing her development as they both moved onto the senior teams.

”She’s really versatile. She’s able to play different positions but her playing as a full-back on the left side is good because she’s really technical. 

“She’s able to hold onto the ball under pressure, and when she starts from lower down the pitch, she has the speed to go one v one. She has a high performance left foot so she’s able to cross but also she’s able to come inside and shoot with the right. So she has a lot of quality.

“Having the opportunity to use her in different positions is good for me as a manager and for the team. But also I made that decision because Niamh Charles was injured and after the international break, she will be back in the squad, so we’ll see how we manage that.”

Bompastor has long had a penchant for converted wingers at full-back as both Baltimore and Charles are. At her former club Lyon, the development of Selma Bacha was one of the most obvious successes during her time as manager. Bacha has also previously played as a winger for France. The focus on the position should be no surprise given Bompastor played left-back for most of her own career.

Aggressive full-backs are a key part of Bompastor’s game model and Baltimore has played that role to a tee so far this season. Against Manchester United, she was able to repeatedly go past United’s right-winger Celin Bizet. Her burgeoning relationship with Guro Reiten allowed the two players to combine to leave right-back Jayde Riviere confounded.

The relationship between Reiten and Baltimore has been crucial because under Bompastor, Reiten has played a much more narrow role off the left, almost at points becoming a second 10. It has been crucial for Baltimore to make the most of the space left out wide, but with her own experience playing as a 10, there are also points where she herself can become the interior player with Reiten moving back out wide. This has made Chelsea unpredictable, something that Bompastor cited after a Champions League game win against Celtic as a key consideration for her team. 

With Charles returning, Bompastor will have another option to create doubt in an opponent’s mind, but will she be ready to drop Baltimore in order to do so? Despite a lot of rotation between the WSL and Champions League, the quadruple B defence of Bronze, Millie Bright, Natalie Bjorn (having replaced the injured Buchanan) and Baltimore has been locked in for the WSL matches where a first choice XI has been used. Do you risk swapping out one of the most effective players for your team so far this season?

Charles is certainly a similar profile to Baltimore, and spent all of pre-season playing in that role. She has a strong relationship with Reiten and was arguably Chelsea’s best player last season. Baltimore could move centrally to play as the 10, with Lauren James still recovering from a calf injury and Maika Hamano still developing. There are ways to keep her in the team whilst also reintegrating Charles.

For years, Chelsea had a dearth of full-backs. In fact, Charles’ repurposing was a solution Emma Hayes came up with to deal with the absence of options in those positions. Now, after the international break they will ostensibly have six choices for the two positions. So far in her time as Chelsea manager, Bompastor has had to deal with injury absentees rather than returnees, and the challenges they bring. The way she approaches the situation with Charles is worth keeping an eye on. With players like Sam Kerr still to return, choices will continue to have to be made.