Chelsea's new manager Sonia Bompastor has said the club has the infrastructure to win the Champions League, the only trophy they were unable to lift during Emma Hayes' tenure.
Former manager Hayes failed to win the coveted continental trophy during her 12-year stint at the club, losing 4-0 to Barcelona in the final in 2021 and in a tightly contested semifinal last term.
Bompastor won the Champions League with Lyon as manager in 2021-22 and won the tournament twice as a player.
"From the club you can just feel there is a lot of ambitions," she said in her first news conference since taking charge of the west London club.
"Every trophy is very important but the Champions League is a special one. At the moment the club had success in the past but maybe this is the one that's missing.
"When I had the meeting with sporting directors I said it was something special to win. I had the incredible chance to win it as a player and a manager. I think we have all the infrastructure to win it."
Bompastor faced Chelsea with her former team, Lyon, in the quarterfinal of the 2022-23 Champions League where Chelsea defeated the French champions on penalties to secure their place in the semifinal but fell short against Barcelona in the subsequent round.
Last term, the Catalans also defeated Chelsea at the same stage, leaving Lyon to face the reigning Champions in the final, which they lost 2-0 in Bilbao.
"Chelsea has always been a great team, one of the best teams in Europe, from last season they were really close to getting to the final which I was quite happy and not happy [about]," she continued.
"Not having Chelsea in the final made me feel better, not having the pressure, but I was sad because I just felt they had really good games against Barcelona, especially away, and sometimes small details are very important.
"Chelsea compete really well against Barcelona, they were really close and sometimes it is really small details. I feel like the club is in a good place and they are ready to go again and compete with the best teams and make sure we go forward until the final."
Bompastor has spent her entire managerial career with eight-time Champions League winners Lyon on top of the six years she spent as a player there.
The move to Chelsea marks the biggest change of her professional life as she takes over the seven-time Women's Super League (WSL) winners.
Bompastor said she believes she can build on Hayes' legacy, even with the now United States women's national team coach having closed out her Chelsea tenure with a fifth successive WSL title.
"I mean, I'm used to that being a former player and manager at Lyon," Bompastor said.
"Emma did a really great job, I just want to build on her legacy. I feel such a lucky manager to have this opportunity after Emma and to show who I am as a manager and a person.
"I am a completely different person from Emma. I have a different vision and philosophy. I'm just trying to build on that legacy and find a way to manage the players and staff. For me what is really important is to come to this club, respect everything that was built before and build my own vision.
However, despite Hayes' dominant success in England, Bompastor does not feel the pressure, although admitting that she is competitive and hates to lose.
"The pressure is something I really like because it makes me better. I will try really hard to make sure I support them, make this club successful. I already told everyone I am here to win every single title and every single game -- that is why I came."
"At the moment I don't feel any pressure. Even if the club puts me under some pressure, I'm the one who puts even more pressure on me. I don't need someone to come and tell me what I have to do. I don't feel that pressure.
"As a manager, I am really competitive, and I maybe don't like losing. This is something I need to work on. I am so competitive and I am a really bad loser. I am a manager who really likes to take care of people as well. It's a difficult job actually.
"When you are a player you always take care of yourself and sometimes you are selfish. As a manager, you never think about you, you always think about everyone else."
The move to the WSL marks a big change for Bompastor, who guided Lyon to three league titles in as many years. While both teams have been dominant in their respective countries, the WSL's competitiveness adds a heightened challenge.
However, a stark difference between the two is the WSL's lack of support for teams competing in the end stages of the continental competition.
Bompastor's predecessor, Hayes, also criticised the league for placing important games during their Champions League knockout fixtures.
"The biggest difference [between the leagues] is the intensity. The league [WSL] is so much more competitive compared to France. In France, most of the time, you only have two clubs who are able to win the title. So here you probably have three or four," she said.
"Every game will be really difficult on the physical side, and something that will be really difficult is sometimes when you will have to play mid-week a Champions League game, you still have to play your very big game on weekends against Arsenal, Manchester City, or United.
"This is something really hard, because you need to perform during one week with three games, three competitive games and this is something really difficult sometimes for the players to be able to perform with not a lot of recovery between the games.
"This is something really different from France, because in France, the French Federation was helping a lot the French clubs, especially the ones who are playing the Champions League, and this is an example, but anytime we were playing a Champions League game in the middle of the week, the French Federation were the ones who are making sure we are not playing a big team in the league, just to help us to perform in the Champions League. This is something really good, and maybe this is something we will need to work on with the FA."