Chelsea's "perfect" performance and the true arrival of Sonia Bompastor

Chelsea deliver performance of the season to overcome two-goal deficit and advance to the Champions League semi-finals

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From the outside, Chelsea’s season has always looked like perfection. Up until eight days ago, Sonia Bompastor’s side had never lost a game.

In her inaugural season in the job, taking the reins from Emma Hayes, Bompastor went 28 games before losing 2-0 to Manchester City in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final last week.

In the end, that black mark was nothing more than a smudge.

At Stamford Bridge on Thursday night, Chelsea delivered their most flawless performance of the season when it mattered most. In 30 first-half minutes, Chelsea scored three goals and overturned a two-goal deficit that had always felt quite fragile.

City’s frailty was visible long before kick-off, as Nick Cushing was only able to name four outfield players to his bench, with only one of those players, Jess Park, being an out-and-out attacking option.