Aston Villa Women 1-3 Chelsea Women
Brentford Men 2-2 Chelsea Men
Bayern Munich 3-1 Chelsea Men
After more than 18 months out of the game with a particularly nasty knee ligament rupture, no one was entirely sure how striker Sam Kerr would slot back into the Chelsea team.
But she answered doubters by coming on as sub for the last 15 minutes of the away game against Aston Villa and scoring her 100th goal for the Blues, and her first under manager Sonia Bompastor.
Chelsea's 3-1 win (an Aggie Beever-Jones strike and an own goal completed the scoring) means the team is one of four unbeaten sides after two WSL ties.
Kerr, on for Johanna Rytting Kaneryd, was described as being "like an extra signing" by the manager.
It was a match which also saw the debut of Chelsea's club record signing Alyssa Thompson.
Late derby despair
Meanwhile for Chelsea's men it was the one that got away. Convinced they'd achieved a 2-1 win at Brentford, the Blues failed to rebuff an injury-time equaliser from battling Bees sub Fabio Carvalho.
In a ding-dong London derby at the Gtech, the Bees took the lead through an excellent strike by Kevin Schade.
Manager Enzo Maresca went up a gear in the second half by bringing on Marc Cucurella, Tyrique George and Reece James as subs.
But it was the introduction of a returning Cole Palmer, having missed the previous two games through injury, which made the difference. Five minutes after coming on, he swept the ball into the net.
A stunning strike from midfielder Moisés Caicedo might have been the winner, but for the 94th minute sting in the tail. "In the end, it's a shame," said head coach Maresca.
Maresca upbeat despite Bayern defeat
Ordinarily, a 3-1 defeat – even away to Bayern Munich – might be cause for concern. But Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca was defiantly upbeat as the team flew back from Germany late on Wednesday night, with Manchester United in their sights at the weekend.
"I think we played good… but just not for the entire game," was his positive spin on the Champions League match. "I am happy with the performance; we knew it would be a very tough game."
An own goal by Trevoh Chalobah set Bayern on their way, with Harry Kane adding a penalty. Cole Palmer, on his 100th appearance for Chelsea, pulled one back before Kane's second-half strike sealed the scoreline.
The Blues are in the middle of an away run with the trips to Brentford and Munich being followed by Manchester United and Lincoln in the League Cup, before returning to the Bridge to face Brighton on 27 September.
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and unless specifically stated are not necessarily those of Hammersmith & Fulham Council.
