Chelsea came from behind and beat Real Madrid, finishing as the leader of Group B in the Women’s Champions League and advancing to the quarter-finals, while substitute Catarina Macario put her team ahead with two penalty goals.

Real were heading towards the top after scoring an early goal when Scottish striker Caroline Weir put the ball into the net after Lucy Bronze’s strike, but Hannah Hampton could not make the save despite handling the ball.

Sonia Bompastor, who was in danger of suffering her first defeat since taking over the Blue-Navy Blue team in the summer, made a change that changed the course of the game at halftime, replacing the ineffective Mayra Ramirez with American Macario.

The effect was immediate. After already having a shot canceled for offside and another that went just wide, Macario scored her first penalty in the 51st minute after being brought down by Olga Carmona.

The defender, who scored a goal in Spain’s 1-0 win over England in the 2023 Women’s World Cup final, conceded another penalty shortly after Wieke Kaptein’s penalty kick.

Macario scored his second goal by sending the penalty just to the right of the goal, 12 minutes before the end of the match.

Real failed to find a way back into the game as Chelsea won Group B, winning six out of six games. Bompastor, meanwhile, has won 15 and drawn one of his 16 games as Blues boss since replacing Emma Hayes in the summer.

Chelsea will play against one of the group runners-up in the two-legged quarter-final in March. The draw will be held on February 7 in Nyon, Switzerland.

While the German team Wolfsburg finished second in Group A, the champions and runners-up of Groups C and D will be determined on Wednesday.

Bayern Munich will lead Arsenal in Group C before the match to be played at Meadow Park, while Manchester City will finish Group D above Barcelona if they get 1 point or lose by only 1 difference in the match in Spain.

Chelsea win despite another injury setback

This was Chelsea’s last game of 2024 and Bompastor will be happy for his team to get some rest.

Winger Johanna Rytting Kaneryd could not play in the match in Spain after suffering a calf injury in the 1-1 draw against Leicester at the weekend; Maelys Mpome could not play again due to his quad muscle injury.

England forward Lauren James will not be able to play until the new year due to a calf injury. Sophie Ingle, Mia Fishel, Sam Kerr, Kadeisha Buchanan and Aniek Nouwen will be away from the field for a long time due to anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries.

Chelsea suffered another setback just before half-time when midfielder Guro Reiten was taken off with an injury to his right ankle.

Reiten created the best opportunity for the visitors in the first half, but her shot from 30 meters was sent wide by home team goalkeeper Misa Rodriguez.

But Real capitalized on their advantage, although they were disappointed that Hampton could not save Weir’s shot.

However, with Macario’s inclusion in the game, the course of the match changed as Chelsea hoped to become European champions for the first time after losing 4-0 to Barcelona in the 2021 Champions League final under Hayes management.

Macario’s superb second-half performance saw Chelsea reach the last eight with a 100% record in the 2024-25 season, and the reigning Women’s Super League (WSL) champions will be a team others will want to stay away from at the next stage in the spring.