Yahoo Sports WSL: Chelsea hammer 7-0 win over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park
A promising first half was not enough for Crystal Palace to compete with Sonia Bompastor’s formidable Chelsea outfit. It all ended 7-0 at the home of the Eagles, marking their second straight heavy defeat.
The Women’s Super League newcomers met with the title-holders on Friday evening at Selhurst Park. The second weekend of the WSL kicked off with a London derby, finishing favourably for Chelsea. Laura Kaminski’s Eagles endured defeat as goals from Aggie Beever-Jones, Lucy Bronze, Lauren James, Guro Reiten, Nathalie Björn and Catarina Macario showcased the Blues’ goalscoring quality.
Whilst Crystal Palace looked lively at times, last season’s promotion winners will need to continue the search for their first top flight points after things went south in SE25.
Starting XI
Crystal Palace
Yañez; Veje, Gibbons, Cato, Everett, Blanchard, Green, Riley, Gejl, Woodham, Stengel
Chelsea
Hampton; Bronze, Bright, Björn, Lawrence, Cuthbert, Nüsken, Reiten, James, Kaneryd, Beever-Jones
First half story
Bompastor’s strong Chelsea side immediately threatened their hosts. The Eagles set up defensively, adopting a five at the back formation when not in possession. However, they looked to press forward when opportunity arose, and challenged the favourites on the fast break.
James was on target in the 12th minute, but the goal didn’t stand. Chelsea’s No.10 sent in a powerful low shot from the box’s outskirts, but the referee’s whistle had been blown as Crystal Palace midfielder Mille Gejl briefly went down with a head injury.
The counter-attack was on shortly after, when Hannah Hampton’s sloppy pass was intercepted by Indiah-Paige Riley. The winger’s second touch was sent into the arms of the goalkeeper, and a golden opportunity passed the underdogs by.
Following a short stint in their final third, Palace lost possession and Johanna Rytting Kaneryd’s run saw her pick out Beever-Jones. The young Chelsea forward made no mistake in finding the back of the net, putting Bompastor’s side ahead in the 39th minute.
The Eagles came close to finding the equaliser as the half-time whistle loomed after Gejl played it to Riley, but a good cut-back from the youngster to Blanchard saw the forward’s attempt fall narrowly wide of the post. Palace trailed a goal behind at the break.
After the break
Chelsea looked stronger still as the second half got underway, despite a valiant effort by the south Londoners. The away side doubled their lead through summer signing Bronze in the 48th minute. Katrine Veje attempted to clear a cross swung in by Ashley Lawrence, but Bronze pounced onto the chance and hit her strike perfectly toward the top left corner.
The reigning champions were bolstered even further when Bompastor chose to bring on Mayra Ramírez for Kaneryd. The striker’s smooth pass across the face of goal was perfect for James, whose light touch aiming for the far post reached its destination.
With Chelsea 3-0 up as of the 58th minute, Palace fought to prevent further damage to the scoreline. The visiting team were unstoppable, however. The Blues were unrelenting, and their heavy presence surrounding the Eagles’ box was fruitful once more in the 74th.
Further substitute involvement for Chelsea meant Macario smartly fed Wieke Kaptein. The No.18 then found Guro Reiten, who tapped it in to secure her team their fourth of the evening.
Four became five not much later, when Chelsea made the most of a set piece in the 78th minute. It was Macario again whose corner landed at the feet of Nathalie Björn, for the centreback to slot it past the now-shaky Palace backline and into the bottom corner.
Chelsea firing to the death
A devastating sixth goal was scored by Chelsea in the 90th minute. Substitute Sandy Baltimore further proved the benefit of Bompastor’s squad depth, her brilliant movement seeking out Reiten, who had no trouble sending her finish into the netting. The freshly promoted Eagles had been worn out by the WSL giants.
Just when Kaminksi’s stronghold of supporters thought it couldn’t get much worse, Macario was presenting a danger again. The forward’s assist for Ramírez saw the shot denied, but the US star did not hesitate to finish the job herself, providing Chelsea with their seventh and final goal of the night in the 95th minute.
Palace walk away from the evening feeling hard done by, and despite their best efforts, with plenty of work to do before turning their attention to Leicester City next week. Chelsea, by contrast, embrace a second consecutive victory and gear up to face Manchester United at Kingsmeadow with confidence.
