Kaptein fantastic strikes as Chelsea battle to WCL win over Austria Vienna

Wieke Kaptein’s early goal gave Chelsea a winning start to their Champions League campaign proper against Austria Vienna, but it was a far from comfortable evening for them.

“Probably the performance is not the one we wanted to have, we could have controlled the game a little bit better in terms of scoring a second goal to kill the opposition’s hope, but sometimes you need to focus on what is most important and tonight that was to win and to take the three points from the game,” said Chelsea’s manager, Sonia Bompastor.

Related: Caldentey’s late penalty provides WCL relief for struggling Arsenal against Køge

A David v Goliath endeavour welcomed the visiting team at the Cherry Red Records Stadium and they rose to the challenge. The mammoth financial gulf between the two teams was highlighted by the Austrian broadcaster ORF in the buildup, who reported: “Chelsea Women’s personnel costs alone for the 2024-25 season, at a cool €17m, were higher than those of the entire Austria club (€14.9m) – including the men’s department, by far the largest item.” Meanwhile, Uefa noted that the manager, Stefan Kenesei, has a full-time job in state pensions insurance.

Ultimately, the gap in quality on the pitch looked far smaller than the finances suggested. Aware of that possibility, Bompastor did not take any risks and made only three changes to the team which earned a 2-0 win against Birmingham on Saturday, despite Arsenal up next on Sunday at Stamford Bridge.

It was a statement of intent from a team desperate to get their hands on the only club trophy to elude them and they were right to be cautious. As the Danish side HB Køge showed against Arsenal on Tuesday night, Champions League minnows can cause big problems.

“The physicality from those [lower-ranked] teams is good,” said Bompastor. “The players are able to match the intensity of the Champions League games from the beginning of the game until the end, as you could see tonight. I also think the coaches who are coaching those teams are good in terms of the tactical aspects. When they come into this game, they are really well prepared and they have a good game plan. So, nothing is easy.”

A moment of magic from the Dutch midfielder Wieke Kaptein gave the hosts the breathing space of an early lead 11 minutes in. The 21-year-old was quickest to the loose ball after a slick sliding tackle from Katharina Schiechtl dispossessed Melvine Malard and she sent a rising strike in off the underside of the bar from 25 yards.

Austria Vienna responded rather than folding, threatening until the final whistle while supported vocally by the small block of travelling fans who appreciated the efforts of the underdogs.

Marie-Antoinette Katoto [pictured] scored a hat-trick as Lyonnes thrashed Servette 8-0 in their opening league phase game of the Women’s Champions League. Katoto’s treble, Melchie Dumornay’s double and two own goals from the Swiss hosts saw Lyonnes go top of the early standings with a crushing display.

The eight-times winners went ahead eight minutes in through Laia Balleste’s own goal before Katoto took control. The France striker bagged her first of the night in the 28th minute and added a second 12 minutes later. Dumornay’s chipped finish gave Lyon a four-goal advantage at the break and just two minutes after the restart, Katoto completed her treble from Lily Yohanes' backheeled pass.

Dumornay added her second in the 54th minute and Laura Strik’s own goal piled more misery on Swiss champions Servette, who conceded again in the 89th minute when Ines Benyahia struck. In Wednesday's other early kick-off, Roma substitute Marta Pandini hit the post with a stoppage-time penalty as they were held to a 0-0 draw at OH Leuven.

Ewa Pajor’s double helped holders Barcelona get off to a winning start as they came back from behind to beat Paris FC 5-2. Barça were handed an initial scare when Evelyne Viens put Paris in front only five minutes in, but Kerolin replied for the hosts with a tidy finish in the 18th minute.

Clara Serrajordi put Barca ahead 10 minutes later, kicking off a destructive 15 minute-period for the hosts, which saw Pajor and Caroline Graham Hansen strike.

Pajor struck again in the 70th minute, before the visitors pulled one back through Clara Mateo as Barça comfortably saw out the win.

Lyonnes host Chelsea next Wednesday in their second league-phase game, while Barcelona visit Roma and Paris FC welcome Arsenal. PA Media

Set pieces and the forward Modesta Uka were their best outlets. Uka’s close control provided both an attacking threat and gave her teammates a reprieve from chasing.

The threat from Uka had been evident in the Austrian side’s qualifying campaign. The Kosovan scored in their 3-2 win against Hajduk Split and scored another two in their 5-0 victory over Farul Constanta in the second qualifying round, before grabbing a hat-trick in a 4-0 win against the Norwegian side Brann to overturn a 2-1 away defeat in the third round and earn their place in the league phase.

“She’s a great player and she deserves to play at this level, just as the whole team does. She deserves to play in the Champions League and we’ve seen today how much potential there is,” said Kenesei.

The longer it went without Bompastor’s side building on their lead, the more confident the players in white became. Just shy of the 70-minute mark there was another tense moment for the hosts, when pressure from the ever-bright Uka forced Veerle Buurman into an error. Katie McCabe looked to have clipped the Austria Vienna player, who seemed to have beaten her to the ball, but a pause after the ball went out of play did not lead to an intervention from the video assistant referee.

Frustrations boiled over a little at the close, when Almedina Sisic re-entered the field without waiting a minute after receiving some treatment, with Bompastor forced to hold back her enraged assistant, Camille Abily, before giving the fourth official a piece of her mind.

In the end, it is a testament to the visiting team that they will leave London extremely disappointed not to have taken anything from a game that gave them opportunity after opportunity to do so.

“Yes, we’re proud. We were brave as we’d planned, really, but to be honest, I’m also disappointed that we didn’t get at least one point. We saw what you all saw today, that we performed at almost the same level as Chelsea,” said Kenesei.

Chelsea can breathe easy, although Keira Walsh’s withdrawal early on with a quad issue as a precaution will be a concern, but they have a job to do to snuff out those chances before they face teams that will capitalise and punish them.