Chelsea Women vs Everton Women. Women's Super League.
Kingsmeadow StadiumAttendance2,074.
Match report and highlights as Chelsea ran riot in a ruthless first half, netting five times; Guro Reiten opened the scoring in stunning fashion; Sam Kerr notched the second but was then forced off injured; Everton rallied after the break but could not prevent Blues scoring twice more
Monday 8 May 2023 13:27, UK
Rampant Chelsea maintained their one hundred per cent home record by storming to an impressive 7-0 victory over luckless Everton.
It's a simple equation for the reigning champions; win their remaining four games and they will retain their Women's Super League title, regardless of what happens elsewhere.
Chelsea have now exchanged places with Manchester City in the table, who suffered a shock loss to Liverpool earlier on Sunday, and are four points shy of leaders Manchester United with a two-game advantage.
A scintillating first-half display saw Guro Reiten break the deadlock with a stunning angled strike (12), before Sam Kerr's back-post header (25) and a sweet Pernille Harder curler (33) had the hosts in dreamland.
Things quickly went from bad to worse for Everton, who got unduly punished during a relentless first half, as Sophie Ingle swept Jessie Fleming's ball into the bottom left corner of Courtney Brosnan's net in the 44th minute, before Fleming tucked home Harder's cross two minutes later.
Despite a valiant second-half effort, Harder and Erin Cuthbert rounded off a ruthless attacking display to pile more misery on Everton late on, as the Blues took another giant leap towards WSL glory.
The only blot on an otherwise fruitful afternoon in west London was Kerr's early withdrawal after going down with an ankle problem, with Chelsea only one week away from an FA Cup final showpiece against Manchester United at a sold-out Wembley Stadium.
Emma Hayes' side made hard work of Everton's Merseyside counterparts Liverpool midweek, owing to a "Camp Nou hangover" according to their manager, but there were few aftereffects evident four days later as Chelsea were back to their devastating best.
When Harder scored with her very first touch, 60 seconds after replacing Kerr, it was clear the Blues were intent on demonstrating exactly why they are favourites for a fourth successive WSL title.
"With the right mentality, then I'm sure we can win it," the Danish international told Sky Sports, referring to Chelsea's title tilt.
A night to forget forget for Everton, who were not able to get a foothold in the game despite a bright start, with the seven goals they shipped as many as they have conceded on the road all season.
Hayes, a notoriously hard task-master, still managed to find fault with her side's opening 20 minutes, calling it "unacceptable" after the full-time whistle - the only part of the evening to provide any relief for opposite number Brian Sorensen.
Reiten's well-taken opener turned out to be the pick of the bunch, before Kerr rose unmarked at the back post to guide Niamh Charles' lofted delivery beyond Brosnan for her 11th league goal of the campaign.
The striker appeared to land awkwardly and was withdrawn shortly after - presumably as a precaution - making way for Harder, who found the net with her first touch off the bench.
Ingle stroked home Fleming's infield pass 10 minutes later, while there was still time for scorer Harder to turn provider, laying the ball on for Fleming to convert a pinpoint cutback before the interval.
"Our efficiency put us in the driving seat," Hayes reflected, with Chelsea scoring five goals with their first five shots on target, outperforming their xG by 3.83.
The Toffees showed some resistance after the break, knowing the result was well beyond them, but Harder grabbed her second in the final 10 minutes and Cuthbert finished things off in added time.
"I don't think this game should define our season," a dejected Sorensen concluded. "It wasn't good enough and that's my responsibility."
Chelsea manager Emma Hayes:
"The first 20 minutes I thought we struggled to get hold of the game. We had to adjust. We were really clinical - that efficiency put us in the driving seat. The performance in the first 20 minutes wasn't acceptable.
"We work a lot on many different situations. We did improve and we were happier going into half-time. It's about peaking in the right moments in the season. We've been chasing in the league all year and we have to be perfect.
"This was the sort of performance we needed to kick on. Especially with a cup final next week, everyone wants to play. We've missed a lot of goals without Pernille Harder.
"We were much fresher [on Sunday] as a whole than we were midweek."
The only benefit of Sam Kerr going off injured is that Pernille Harder entered the action earlier than expected. The forward jumped at her opportunity, wasting no time in crashing the ball home for Chelsea's third with her very first touch of a particularly productive afternoon. Her second-half strike was not bad either.
Everton were already under the cosh before Harder's introduction but her impact was nevertheless provoking. The question now remains, after such a lengthy injury lay-off, is she ready to re-enter the starting XI, or will Emma Hayes continue to be sparing with her game time? She certainly has not done her case any harm, with a Wembley final just around the corner.
Everton manager Brian Sorensen:
"We actually started really well and then the first goal, everything started to fall apart. They were really ruthless in their attack. From our side, it wasn't good enough and that's my responsibility.
"We tried to change at half-time and have a little different pressure which work better, but at the end of the day, defensively, we didn't show up.
"I don't think this game should define our season. We've had a pretty good season and we're building a new team, building an identity. If you look at the stats, it was almost 50-50 with possession so we can keep the ball against the best teams.
"Until the last game against Reading, we had the best away defence in the league, but the last two or three games, we really gave up on that. I don't know if it's because we are settled where we are, but something has to be better."
Chelsea's hectic final month of fixtures continues at home to Leicester on Wednesday, kick-off 7pm, before a standout trip to Wembley Stadium in a week's time to take on Manchester United in the FA Cup final, kick-off 2.30pm.
Everton are at home to Arsenal on Wednesday May 17, live on Sky Sports Football, kick-off 6.15pm.
