Chelsea FCW 3-0 Tottenham Hotspur FCW, Women’s Super League: Post-match reaction

A game at Stamford Bridge, with manager Emma Hayes back on the sidelines and Chelsea having the chance to be at the top of Women’s Super League by either drawing or beating their opponent in a derby. You would be excused if you did not give much thought about the upcoming World Cup opener between Qatar and Equador, given the weight of our encounter against Tottenham Hotspur today.

Despite being the hosts, Chelsea did not begin the match all guns blazing against a Tottenham side that has failed to impress against the league’s title contenders thus far. But we all know one of the things Spurs love the most is pulling pranks on the Blues. And so we stayed cautious, with the opponents dominating possession while failing to find proper chances to score in the very early game.

But Chelsea are just built different. On their first chance, the Blues got the opener with Sam Kerr beating the entire Tottenham defence plus their goalkeeper to score her fourth WSL goal this season.

Now settled in the big stage, the Blues began playing like they are used to. Tottenham had little to no chances to approach our defence as we began pushing for a second goal.

Eventually the second goal came to fruition, and what a goal it was! After a corner, Erin Cuthbert took the ball from the edge of the box and shot a true curveball to make it 2-0 to the Blues.

Before the half-time whistle blew, there was time and space for a third Chelsea goal. Lauren James was fouled in the box and Guro Reiten converted the chance from the spot 36 minutes into the match, effortlessly sending the ball to the opposite side of the keeper.

Chelsea were even more dominant in the second half, getting plenty of shots at goal that could have stretched our lead to a much larger margin on a good day. Still, three points in the bag thanks to our first-half scores — we will take it.

Carefree!

• Emma is back!
• Strong lineup to face the Spurs at the Bridge, given the chance to get to the top of the league — even if with one game ahead of our opponents in the schedule.
• Subs are Jess Carter for Magda Eriksson, Beth England for Sam Kerr, Fran Kirby for Erin Cuthbert, Katerina Svitkova for Guro Reiten, and Aniek Nouwen for Kadeisha Buchanan.
• Good midfield play from both Sophie Ingle and Erin Cuthbert in the first half. That thunderous goal from the latter was truly a reward for the latter.
• Even on a “bad day”, you need to get the ball to Lauren James so she can pull at least one moment of magic from her toolbox. She is just unstoppable!
• Guro Reiten + Sam Kerr have everything in themselves to become a duo as lethal as “Kerrby”. Just need a bit more sync with the latter’s crosses to the box.
• Next up: Real Madrid Femenino at home for the Women’s Champions League.
• KTBFFH!