Chelsea have bounced back from their 1-1 draw at Manchester United on opening day by thrashing Bristol City 9-0 at Kingsmeadow this afternoon.
Nine different goalscorers got their names on the scoresheet on a fascinating afternoon for Emma Hayes’ side.
There was an element of good fortune behind the opening goal but given it was Fran Kirby’s first in 16 months, she deserved it. The diminutive Lioness had looked sharp in her first two games of the season after a lengthy time out through illness and she was gifted a goal after quarter of an hour. It was a somewhat tame left-footed effort from the edge of the box but the ball bounced just before reaching Sophie Baggaley and slipped through the keeper’s hands.
The Bristol City keeper quickly redeemed herself when a corner caused all sorts of chaos in the area. The ball fell to Millie Bright who fired a venomous effort from close range but it was blocked on the line. Appeals for hand ball were waved away by the referee and Sam Kerr’s headed effort was well saved by Baggaley who got down well to steer the ball away.
Her reprieve was short-lived as Yana Daniels brought Ji So-yun down in the Bristol City area to give The Blues the opportunity to double their lead. Up stepped Maren Mjelde who coolly picked her spot and placed the ball into the top right corner.
Bristol City had barely picked the ball out of the back of the net before they were 3-0 down. A lateral free-kick was fiercely whipped in by Erin Cuthbert and Melanie Leupolz met the ball with her head and powered it into the goal.
Provider then turned goalscorer as the Bristol City defence stood off Cuthbert and the Scot let rip from 25 yards with the ball nestling in the bottom left corner.
Bristol City’s first half misery was then compounded minutes later when another free-kick into the area found a Chelsea head and this time it was Bright who diverted the ball on goal. Baggaley was able to get her right hand onto the ball but there was just too much power on the header and the scoreline was 5-0 at half-time.
If anything, Chelsea looked even stronger when they came out for second half. Bristol City had pressed high in the first half but changed tact in the second half, sacrificing a lot of possession to the home side. Kerr was consequently given a couple of good opportunities but was unable to divert any goalwards.
It was a good 20 minutes after the interval before Chelsea broke through once again. A drilled low cross from Kirby was fumbled by Baggaley and Beth England was first to react and poked the ball in to make it six.
Chelsea boss Hayes then rang the changes as she brought on Niamh Charles, Pernille Harder, and Maria Thorisdottir and the substitutes had an immediate impact. Harder’s effort from the edge of the area was deflected straight to Charles and with the keeper already committed, the England youngster slotted the ball into the open net. She then returned the favour moments later when her low cross found Harder in the area and her sumptuous back-heel left the keeper helpless.
Many sides would’ve been happy with the eight goals but when there are players as goal-hungry as the ones in the Chelsea side that was never going to be enough. Kerr had been frustrated for large portions of the match and even had a shot rebound off the bar, but she eventually found her elusive goal. A driving run from Harder at the heart of the Bristol City defence created space for the Australian striker who was picked out by the Dane and she side-footed the ball past Baggaley to make it nine goals at the final whistle.
A lot has been made about Chelsea’s strength-in-depth and nothing showcases that more than there being nine different goalscorers in their victory today. That will delight Hayes incredibly now knowing she can rely on all of her players when called upon.
It doesn’t get much easier for Bristol City as next they come up against an Arsenal side who have racked up 15 goals in their opening two games of the season. As for Chelsea, their next fixture comes in the quarter-final of last season’s Women’s FA Cup as they travel to Willie Kirk’s Everton. It will be a difficult test for Emma Hayes’ side who so far haven’t been at their sharpest, whereas The Blue Girls have looked very impressive even at this early stage.
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