Chelsea beat Austria Wien 1-0 in Women's Champions League opener

In-form midfielder Keira Walsh came off with an injury as Chelsea secured a narrow 1-0 win over Austria Wien in their opening UEFA Women's Champions League league phase match on Wednesday 23 September.

The England international, 29, was substituted in the 20th minute and headed straight down the tunnel, shortly after Wieke Kaptein had opened the scoring with a stunning 25-yard strike that went in off the crossbar.

It is unclear how precautionary the decision to come off was, but Chelsea host Arsenal in the Women's Super League on Sunday, with England's squad to be announced next week.

Bompastor on Walsh's quad problem

Chelsea played their second match at AFC Wimbledon's Cherry Red Records Stadium in front of 846 supporters, and attention afterwards turned quickly to the midfielder.

Asked by BBC Sport after the match, manager Sonia Bompastor said: "Yeah, so more we were trying to be cautious with her, she just felt a little bit of quad. Hopefully it's not too bad. We'll assess her tomorrow and see if she's available for Sunday's game. It's too soon to say now."

Austria Wien threaten a shock on their debut

On their debut in the Champions League, Austria Wien looked capable of delivering a shock as defender Virginia Kirchberger shot over from close range after Chelsea goalkeeper Livia Peng spilled a corner into her path.

Beforehand, Chelsea striker Melvine Malard, who made her first start since joining from Manchester United, had two good efforts to extend the lead. Blues winger Alyssa Thompson also shot just wide late on in the half.

After the interval Malard was replaced by Maika Hamano in what looked like a pre-planned change. The Austrian double-winners caught Veerle Buurman in possession before Velentina Potzl had a shot brilliantly saved by Peng.

The visitors' Modesta Uka also hit the post later in the half, while Kaptein and Sandy Baltimore had shots saved and blocked for the Blues. Sjoeke Nüsken volleyed the best Chelsea chance over from close range after brilliant wing play from Ellie Carpenter.

Ultimately, Chelsea edged out Wien in unconvincing fashion.

Injury list grows ahead of Arsenal and Lyon

Chief among the concerns is whether Walsh will be fit to feature against Arsenal, with Chelsea sitting third in the Women's Super League, two points behind leaders Manchester City.

There is also a question mark over Lauren James, who is hopeful of a return, while captain Erin Cuthbert, Manaka Matsukubo and Aggie Beever-Jones remain sidelined through injury.

The performance against Wien was another unconvincing display from Chelsea, particularly in attack, as they squandered chances to extend their lead. As the game wore on they also struggled to control the visitors despite starting as overwhelming favourites, no doubt affected by the loss of their key playmaker.

Although they could have extended their lead, Chelsea also gave away a lot of chances and could have ended up with less than the expected three points in what, on paper, looked their easiest fixture. Bompastor cut a tense figure on the touchline as she attempted to guide her side to an opening victory in the league phase of Europe's premier club competition.

It is a tournament Chelsea have never won, despite Bompastor insisting they are capable of doing so, while also acknowledging this season could be a transitional one for the club. Concerns remain that Chelsea, who have spoken about a lack of a clinical edge after two of their opening three Women's Super League matches, are still searching for their identity this season, particularly with Arsenal on the horizon.

That is without mentioning a trip to Bompastor's former club Lyon, who won 8-0 in the Champions League on the same night, to follow next week.

After the match there was an admission that Chelsea were not at their best but had ultimately got the result they needed.

"I put out a very experienced team," Bompastor added. "I think we could have controlled the game better and killed the opposition's hope by scoring again. Sometimes you have to focus on what is most important, which was winning the game.

"I think we have enough time to recover for the game at the weekend. I know we will have fresh legs and the game will be very different as it is a London derby."

Kaptein was named player of the match with an average rating of 7.30, ahead of Carpenter on 7.24 and L. Potter on 7.00. Chelsea are next in league phase action away to OL Lyonnes on 30 September, before hosting Roma on 28 October.

SportsLigue