.jpg?auto=webp&format=pjpg&width=3840&quality=60)
When Chelsea boss Sonia Bompastor brought Catarina Macario on at half-time in the Blues' vital Champions League clash with Real Madrid on Tuesday night, even she could not have imagined the American forward would make as big and as sudden of an impact as she did. Entering the game with Las Blancas 1-0 up, within 11 minutes Macario had converted two penalties, one of which she won herself, and turned the match upside down to give Chelsea a win that secured top spot in their UWCL group.
Bompastor's perfect start to life in London came to a frustrating end at the weekend, when the Blues were held to a disappointing 1-1 draw by Leicester in the Women's Super League, and her unbeaten record was in serious danger in Spain after Hannah Hampton failed to keep out a strike from Caroline Weir which she got a strong hand to. Real had chances to add to their lead before the break too, most notably when Olga Carmona fired just a whisker wide following wonderful work by Weir.
Chelsea's chances in that first half were limited but that all changed when Macario entered the fray. She fired a warning shot within seconds with an offside goal, forced Misa Rodrigez into a great stop one-v-one a few minutes later and then prompted a clumsy tackle in the box out of Olga, before dusting herself off to confidently convert from the spot. Within five minutes, Olga was left remonstrating once more, this time penalised for a handball in the area. Macario remained cool while waiting to try and beat Misa from 12 yards again though and when the referee finally blew her whistle, she hit the exact same spot to secure a 2-1 win that means Chelsea will face a group stage runner-up in the quarter-finals.
GOAL rates Chelsea's players from Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano...