Chelsea FCW 7-0 Everton WFC, Women’s Super League: Post-match reaction

Although Chelsea Women were the home side against Everton today in their Women’s Super League match, the Toffees looked really comfortable in the first minutes of the game. Zecira Musovic was kept in alert as our midfield seemed to struggle against the visitors.

That did not last long, as Chelsea started to win their duels and keep possession for more than a few passes. In one of best periods while keeping the ball, Johanna Rytting Kaneryd assisted Guro Reiten for her sixth goal this season.

The goal shook Everton, who answered with better midfield control and were pushing further up the pitch in trying to score an equaliser. What they got instead was Chelsea’s second goal, with Niamh Charles’ cross meeting Sam Kerr’s head in the box.

From that point on Everton simply could not find an answer in the first half. While the scenes involving Sam Kerr being taken off the pitch 30 minutes into the pitch were concerning, the fact her substitute, Pernille Harder, scored less than a minute after his entrance was not.

Then it was Sophie Ingle, with the midfielder providing a classic long-distance shot to convert the chance and add a fourth goal to the scoreline in our favour.

The last goal of the half was Jessie Fleming’s, wrapping a nice team move that also summarised how dominant and how in sync Chelsea looked when moving to attack.

Everton did try their utmost to at least pull one back against us in the second half. But their plans were thwarted by a Chelsea team as solid as an eventual title winner. We even managed to squeeze another goal in the scoreline, with an amazing Erin Cuthbert run on the right to set up Harder for the second goal of the day.

It was then time for Cuthbert herself get in the scoresheet.

Carefree!

• Zecira Musovic, Maren Mjelde, Sophie Ingle, Jelena Cankovic, and Johanna Rytting Kaneryd provide the rotation from the Chelsea Women team that beat Liverpool at home last week.
• Subs are Pernille Harder for Sam Kerr, Lauren James for Guro Reiten, Alsu Abdullina for Ève Périsset, Erin Cuthbert for Jelena Cankovic, and Jess Carter for Niamh Charles.
• Get well soon, Kerr!
• It was worrying to see Everton being able to match our levels of intensity in midfield and attack at the beginning of the match. But once we found the first goal, the match was basically over for them.
• Every goal but the last one, a different player. It really goes to show how Chelsea are a multi-threat team when they are in tune.
• Hopefully we get to keep Pernille Harder this summer. Her being healthy would most likely make a big difference in some, if not most, of Chelsea’s faulty performances this season.
• Defenders can tackle Lauren James in any way they want in the box, and the referee will still claim it was not a penalty. Why must officiating suck at every level of English football?
• Next up: Leicester City at Kingsmeadow for the Women’s Super League
• KTBFFH!