Real Madrid opened the scoring after seven minutes at the Alfredo Di Stefano Stadium through Caroline Weir, before half-time substitute Catarina Macrio scored twice from the penalty spot and put the Blues 2-1 up by the 56th minute.

The victory in our final match of 2024 means Sonia Bompastor's side have secured top spot in Group B after winning each of our six matches and extends our unbeaten run under Bompastor to 16 matches across all competitions.

We will now have to wait until 7 February to discover our quarter-final opponents, with the two-legged fixture set to be played in March.

Hosts take early lead

In the Spanish capital, there was a trio of changes made from our Women's Super League draw with Leicester at the weekend with Niamh Charles, Erin Cuthbert and Aggie Beever-Jones all introduced to the starting XI.

It was the hosts who fashioned the opening opportunity when the ball was nicked in the final third, before Scottish international Weir then unleashed a strike goalwards that was comfortably gathered by Hannah Hampton, who was making her first Champions League appearance this season.

But, it was Weir who put Las Blancas ahead after seven minutes when she was picked out by Linda Caicedo and took aim. Hampton got a hand to the ball and looked to push it over the bar, but it dropped and rolled over the line.

There was almost a stunning equaliser when a well-worked move from a corner resulted in Guro Reiten hitting a strike from long-range, but it was sent over the bar and onto the roof of the net by Madrid goalkeeper Misa Rodriguez.

It was almost 2-0 for the home side halfway through the first half, with Weir at the centre of the action again. She worked the ball past a number of Blues before finding captain Olga Carmona, who then fizzed a shot just wide of the post.

Mayra Ramirez soon showed incredible strength to outmuscle two opposing defenders and carry the ball into the box, however, she could not keep her shot from the right side of the box down and it went over the bar.

In the dying stages of the first half, we went close to finding the leveller. A great long ball forward from Cuthbert sent Charles in behind down the left side. She burst into the box with the ball and did well to get a shot away, forcing goalkeeper Misa into a diving save.

Macario makes instant impact

Half-time substitute Macario had the ball in the back of the net inside the opening minute of the second half, but she was flagged for being in an offside position when the ball was threaded through to her in the box.

Another through pass from Cuthbert found Macario, who this time timed her run to perfection. However, her shot looked like it was pushed past the post by goalkeeper Misa, however, the referee adjudged her strike to have fizzed just wide of the post and behind for a goal-kick.

The American forward continued to have an impact and won a penalty. She stepped up for the spot-kick and made no mistake in dispatching it to pull the Blues level in the 51st minute.

Another penalty was soon awarded to Bompastor's side following a handball by Carmona inside the box. Once again, Macario found the back of the net with an emphatic strike from 12 yards to give her side a 2-1 lead with just over half an hour to be played.

Macario's brace means she has now scored three goals in two Champions League games having netted in last week's 6-1 win over FC Twente at Stamford Bridge.

The hosts looked to respond after going behind with Sheila Garcia taking aim and looking to beat Hampton from distance, however, her strike landed on the roof of the net.

Our goalkeeper had to be alert when a dangerous-looking free-kick was whipped into the box by Weir, which required Hampton to tip it away from safety at the far post.

The Blues then tried to hit Las Blancas on the counterattack, with Maika Hamno driving with the ball down the left before sending it into the box where she found Wieke Kaptein. The midfielder teed up Beever-Jones, but the forward saw her close-range effort claimed by Misa.

At the other end, Hampton was called into action once again. An unmarked Fillipa Angeldahl was in space at the far post and a low diving save from the Blues goalkeeper kept the score at 2-1.

One of the final chances of the match saw an opportunity for Weir to bag her brace when she stepped up for a free-kick 20 yards out from goal. But, the effort from Real Madrid's No.10 had too much flight on it and it dropped onto the roof of the net.

What it means

Our win over Real Madrid means we finish Group B in first place with six wins from six. We will enter the quarter-final draw in February as one of four seeded teams.

What next

The season now comes to a pause for the winter break, with the Blues returning to action on Sunday 12 January when we begin our FA Cup campaign in the fourth round at home against Charlton Athletic.

The teams

Real Madrid: Misa; Garcia, Lakrar, Mendez, Olga, Leupolz, Toletti (Athenea 73), Angeldahl, Caicedo (Feller 60), Weir, Bruun (Redondo 60)
Unused substitutes: Chavas, Laia, Oihane, Teresa, Antonia, Moller, Camocho, Navarro
Scorers: Weir 7

Chelsea: Hampton; Bronze, Bjorn, Bright, Charles (Baltimore 72), Nusken (Lawrence 71), Cuthbert, Kaptein, Reiten (Hamano 40), Beever-Jones, Ramirez (Macario 46)
Unused substitutes: Musovic, Cox, Perisset, Bartel, Brown, Jean-Francois
Scorers: Macario 51, 56
Booked: Cuthbert 61, Baltimore 83

You can register your interest for our Champions League quarter-final match at Stamford Bridge here! We will find out our opponents on 7 February, with the two-legged fixture set to be played in March.