Chelsea Women 4-0 Paris FC Féminines
Chelsea Women 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur Women
In a draughty, echoey Stamford Bridge, Chelsea Women turned in a focused, professional performance to beat Paris FC 4-0 in the Champions League – an important result after the disappointment of only drawing in the Netherlands the previous week.
The French side held their own for half an hour before a bizarre refereeing decision by Polish official Michalina Diakow gifted the Blues a penalty.
Sjoeke Nusken tumbled in the Paris area following only the faintest of brushes with defender Anaele Le Moguedec. There were no appeals by the players, and the game resumed, only for VAR to halt proceedings.
After being sent to view the 'incident' on the screen, Diakow pointed to the spot. Sandy Baltimore confidently converted. Eight minutes later it was 2-0 thanks to Jo-Jo Rytting Kaneryd's powerful looping header over the Paris keeper after lightning-fast Alyssa Thompson had crossed.
All the halftime talk in the press room was about the curious penalty decision, but whatever the rights and wrongs, Chelsea were in command. Second-half goals from Thompson and Erin Cuthbert (following an excellent downward header by sub Sam Kerr) sealed the deal, and the cushion allowed Sonia Bompastor to give teenager Lexi Potter an assured debut.
"The most important thing is the character we have shown in the last two games," said gaffer Sonia Bompastor at the end. But with barely 1,500 people rattling around the 40,000-seater stadium like shortbread crumbs in a biscuit tin, this was a soulless encounter.
UEFA regulations state that Kingsmeadow is too small for Champions League matches. The supporters who did turn up at the Bridge, geed up by superfan Basil Goode, enjoyed their night out, but it all felt a bit flat with three sides of the stadium deserted. It will definitely be better when a much larger crowd gathers to cheer on the women when Barcelona visit on 25 November.
Top of Women's Super League
Meanwhile Chelsea remain at the top of the Women's Super League – just – after Keira Walsh came to the Blues' rescue at the weekend.
Just as it looked as if Spurs might derail Chelsea's bid to add a seventh successive WSL trophy to the cabinet, she fired home from the edge of the box to secure three nervy points at Kingsmeadow.
With the men on an international break, the spotlight was firmly on the women, with captain Millie Bright racking up her 300th appearance for Chelsea, Niamh Charles back in the starting line-up after fully recovering from injury, and Lucy Bronze making a welcome return off the subs' bench after playing through the entire Euros tournament in the summer with a fractured leg.
The Tottenham keeper, Lize Kop, was the busier during the Sunday lunchtime match, but Chelsea struggled to make supremacy and possession pay.
Just after an hour's play came the breakthrough, following the double substitution of Wieke Kaptein and Charles by Cat Macario and teenage defender Veerle Buurman. Aussie powerhouse Ellie Carpenter slipped the ball to Walsh, who fired home.
A sigh of relief filled the Kingsmeadow air, and Spurs – under new gaffer Martin Ho – knew their heroic defensive game was up. All the same, a single goal is never enough to give complete reassurance, and it was only after ref Grace Lowe blew the final whistle that everyone could relax.
Chelsea Women's next domestic tie is against the newcomers London City Lionesses at Stamford Bridge.
Meanwhile the men are back in action at Nottingham Forest this weekend, followed by two quickfire home matches against Ajax and Sunderland.
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and unless specifically stated are not necessarily those of Hammersmith & Fulham Council.
