Chelsea Women have secured their place in the Women’s Champions League league phase, completing a 6-2 aggregate win over Real Sociedad after a 1-0 victory in Spain on 2 September 2026. This update, filed on 18 September, confirms Sonia Bompastor’s side have cleared their qualifying tie and now wait on Friday’s draw to learn their opponents.
Updated: Chelsea Women confirm Champions League league-phase place
The result in Spain closed out a comfortable two-legged win for the Blues. A 5-2 first-leg lead from Plough Lane gave Chelsea plenty of breathing room, and they managed the second leg without conceding, sealing a 6-2 aggregate scoreline.
Qualification means Bompastor’s squad will feature in the newly formatted league phase this autumn, with fixtures against a fresh set of opponents drawn from across Europe. The club’s status as one of the continent’s leading sides remains intact heading into the new campaign.
How Chelsea built their first-leg lead at Plough Lane
Chelsea laid the groundwork for their aggregate win at Plough Lane, where they beat Real Sociedad 5-2 in the first leg. Naomi Girma opened the scoring, with Veerle Buurman and Lauren James also finding the net for the home side.
The standout contribution came from Melvine Malard, who scored twice on her competitive debut for the club. Her brace, combined with goals from Girma, Buurman and James, gave Chelsea a three-goal cushion to take into the return leg in Spain.
That advantage shaped how the second leg played out. With a healthy lead already banked, Chelsea travelled to Spain needing only to avoid a heavy defeat, and they went a step further by winning the tie outright on the night.
Chelsea vs Real Sociedad aggregate result and second-leg analysis
Chelsea beat Real Sociedad 1-0 in the second leg to complete a 6-2 aggregate victory over the tie. Keira Walsh scored the only goal of the night, extending the lead they had built at Plough Lane into a comfortable overall margin.
Walsh’s goal came after Chelsea worked a set-piece routine, with the midfielder finding space just outside the penalty area before beating Real Sociedad goalkeeper Julia Arrula with a strike from range. It proved enough to settle the contest, as the Blues did not need to add to their aggregate tally to progress.
The clean sheet in Spain rounded off a tie in which Chelsea never looked in danger of missing out on the league phase. Full detail on how the second leg unfolded is available in original coverage of the second leg.
What happens next
Attention now turns to Nyon, where the Women’s Champions League league-phase draw takes place on 4 September. Chelsea will learn the identity of their opponents alongside the rest of the sides who qualified from the play-off round.
The first league-phase matches are scheduled for 22 and 23 September, giving Bompastor’s squad a short turnaround to prepare for their opening fixture once the draw is made.
Before that, domestic business comes first. Chelsea Women open their Women’s Super League campaign against Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, giving supporters their first look at the squad on home soil this season.
Chelsea’s momentum this season has not been confined to the Women’s team. our earlier report looked at how the wider club has approached the opening weeks of the campaign. That same sense of purpose has carried through to Bompastor’s group as they move into Europe’s group stage.
