Chelsea Women 2-0 West Ham United Women
Chelsea are now the only team left standing in the Women’s Champions League after Arsenal, Man Utd and Glasgow City fell out during the tournament’s qualifying stages.
United lost 3-1 to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday night, with Arsenal losing on penalties to Paris FC (who then went on to shock hotly tipped Wolfsburg... a team that has caused Chelsea no end of trouble in the past).
Emma Hayes and her squad are used to being the only Brits still flying the flag in Europe, and after Friday's draw in Switzerland find themselves in the same group as Real Madrid, Hacken of Sweden and the Paris FC team that saw off the Gunners.
Blues executive manager Adrian Jacob flew out to UEFA HQ to watch the draw take place. The group stage matches will be played between November and January.
But the more immediate matter is maintaining a healthy start to the domestic competition. With Chelsea’s men scattered to the four winds last week on international duties, it fell to Chelsea’s women to provide the entertainment with a 2-0 victory at Kingsmeadow over West Ham.
The Blues hadn’t lost to the Irons in the entire history of the Women’s Super League – winning nine and drawing one of their previous encounters. They continued that run after Sam Kerr powered a header past Mackenzie Arnold in the Hammers’ goal on 37 minutes, with Niamh Charles providing the cross in the absence of Guro Reiten, who was watching from the stand.
Although fans had to wait for a late, late shot from sub Erin Cuthbert to clinch the points, it briefly pushed Chelsea to the top of the table on their own... a situation the Blues haven’t known at this stage for several years after a string of uncharacteristically poor season starts.
The fact that a much-changed squad, lacking the experience and reliability of twin pillars Magda Eriksson and Pernille Harder, has made a far brighter start than usual has delighted Hayes, who struggled to explain past early hesitancy.
It means Chelsea should be well into their stride when they face their first European tie as Hayes once again sets out on the mission to lift the only piece of silverware that has so far eluded her.
Oddly, continental glory is something seen as a bit of a double-edged sword in the Chelsea boardroom. While the Blues’ hierarchy share the dream of Champions League triumph and mirror the men’s European trophies, they are also conscious that it will almost certainly mean Hayes can breathe a sigh of relief and contemplate a job change.
She sees European success as ‘unfinished business’, and has resisted all overtures from other clubs – men's and women's – to spread her wings until she has filled the gap in the trophy cabinet.
Seagulls swoop
Kingsmeadow is the venue for another league match this weekend, with Brighton visiting at 2pm on Sunday as Chelsea, after last weekend’s other matches now sharing the No1 spot in the WSL table.
Meanwhile, the men return to action with an eagerly awaited – if slightly dreaded – derby against high-flying Arsenal at the Bridge.
The match kicks off at 5.30pm on Saturday, meaning that the pubs near the ground in Fulham Road are likely to be packed soon after the final whistle to see how England’s rugby players fare against South Africa in the World Cup semi-final!
Few people give the Blues much hope against the freewheeling Gunners, but Morrie Pochettino, with his Spurs heritage, has a glint in his eye, and has been scheming all week.
He’s aiming to surprise an Arsenal side who are being tipped to finally break Manchester City’s grip on the Premier League trophy handles.
Chelsea will have to up their game if they are to pull off a shock, but old-timers at Stamford Bridge know only too well that while the Blues traditionally struggle against minnows, they occasionally come good when it’s least expected.
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and unless specifically stated are not necessarily those of Hammersmith & Fulham Council.
