Chelsea boss Emma Hayes said her side were the best the Blues “ever had”, with her team maintaining their perfect start to the Women’s Champions League by knocking out Real Madrid.
Second-half goals from Sophie Ingle and Erin Cuthbert helped the hosts win easily at Kingsmeadow.
Chelsea remain the favorites to win Group A and are now five points clear of second-placed Paris St-Germain.
“This team is on another level,” Hayes said.
“They’re the best team we’ve ever had. I think learning from previous years and learning from defeat in the final [against Barcelona in 2021] assistance.”
After a lackluster first half, the Blues took the lead through Sophie Ingle’s 67th-minute header after Millie Bright fired in from a corner.
Erin Cuthbert’s diving cross sealed the score 15 minutes from time, catching goalkeeper Misa Rodriguez.
The Blues return home to Kingsmeadow
Chelsea, who returned to the top of the Women’s Super League on Sunday after beating Tottenham at Stamford Bridgeentered the game top of the group, two points ahead of unbeaten Real Madrid.
After a 1-0 win over Paris St-Germain and an 8-0 win over Vllaznia in their other two Champions League matches, a bouncing Kingsmeadow crowd was expected.
They closed in on Fran Kirby’s early curling efforts in an otherwise uneventful first half.
With 25 minutes to go, there was nervous energy at Kingsmeadow with Real Madrid growing into the game, but that was quickly replaced by relief after Ingle’s opener.
And Chelsea nearly added a third through two Niamh Charles efforts to the death as they galloped to victory.
Hayes praised his team’s maturity, adding: “I think a few years ago we would have been impatient, especially in the first half.
“It was a quiet dressing room at half-time. When these two teams are so relatively even, I start to see the importance of our experience.
“We are certainly playing better European football, we are getting more and more used to it.”
Real Madrid second best in London
It was the first meeting between Chelsea and Real Madrid, but Las Blancas have a fine record against English teams in the Champions League. having eliminated Manchester City for the second straight season in the August playoffs.
The visitors have come to west London having lost only once this campaign, to Barcelona in the Primera Division where they sit third in the table.
And although they struggled in the opening rallies, last year’s quarter-finalists entered the game as Esther Gonzalez saw a ferocious shot blocked shortly after the restart.
But it was to be their only meaningful effort, with Chelsea the better side in Hayes’ first game at Kingsmeadow. since recovering from surgery.
