Chelsea continued their unbeaten start in the Women's Champions League as goals from Ellie Carpenter and Kadeisha Buchanan secured a 2-0 win against Roma.
Eyebrows were raised when Lauren James and Alyssa Thompson were replaced at half-time in London following a wasteful first half but it paid off when substitute Ellie Carpenter squeezed home the opener, six minutes after coming on.
Melvine Malard and Sjoeke Nusken, who also appeared off the bench, squandered big chances to seal the game but a second eventually come through Buchanan with just a minute of regular time to play.
The defender rose highest in the box to nod Wieke Kaptein's cross in.
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Chelsea's unbeaten start to the league phase continues as a result and means they momentarily move to the top of the table with Hacken, Paris Saint-Germain and Leuven to come in their final three league phase fixtures.
Bompastor explains James and Thompson substitutions
Chelsea boss Sonia Bompastor:
"I am really pleased with the solid performance in terms of defensive performance. It is good to have three clean sheets. When you want to go far, you need a solid defensive base.
"With the quality we have in the team, I am confident we will always create chances. We just need to be confident to score some of them."
On substituting Lauren James and Alyssa Thompson at half-time: "We had a game plan and I don't think, as a team, we performed well enough. Sometimes you have to make adjustments.
"The whole team was not producing and sometimes you have to pick players to bring players in who will impact the game the most.
"The runs in behind were the element I had in my mind when I brought those two players in. I am someone who likes to give the freedom of my players to express themselves. Today I took the lead as I was not happy with the first-half performance."
Carpenter: Bompastor called for better finishing
Chelsea's Ellie Carpenter speaking to Disney+:
"First half we struggled to score but we had good opportunities and at half-time the coach said we need to put away our chances. I just tried to help the team attack, go forward and get shots off.
"I'm happy I did and scored and helped the team get three points tonight.
"Right-back but I love getting forward. I love helping this team defend, attack, score goals, win, so just do everything for the team."
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