Chelsea: Maren Mjelde and Maria Thorisdottir shut down Australia’s Sam Kerr

Chelsea defenders Maren Mjelde and Maria Thorisdottir helped Norway advance to the quarterfinals of the Women’s World Cup by doing what very few teams have been able to do in the last year: mute Australia’s Sam Kerr.

One player had scored 28 goals in her previous 30 games leading into the Norway – Australia Round of 16 match in the Women’s World Cup. Maren Mjelde and Maria Thorisdottir not only made sure she didn’t extend that run, they made it impossible for anyone to figure out who that player might be. The Chelsea defensive pair smothered Australia’s Sam Kerr, limiting her influence to only one shot on goal over 120 minutes.

One of Kerr’s most threatening moves is a misdirection with her runs off an opponent’s defensive line. Like most strikers, she will hang on the defensive line waiting for a pass to send her in on goal. However, she she is just as likely to sprint 10-20 yards towards her zone to receive a pass between the lines as she is to wait for a through-ball or a pass over the top.

Aside from the uncertainty, her sprints deep to receive have several effects. If her centreback marker follows her, there is now space for a teammate to run onto an around-the-corner pass from Kerr or for Kerr to turn and run into herself. The centreback moving upfield draws the rest of the defensive line up to cover, which means the line is now moving against the run of play under Australia’s and Kerr’s control.

Mjelde and Thorisdottir never took the bait. They held their line and their marking tightly to Kerr with precise discipline.

If Kerr sprinted deep to receive a pass, the Chelsea defenders kept their position, knowing a Norwegian midfielder would close Kerr between the lines. The duo also knew they stood a better chance of defending Kerr as she ran at them than trying to fight her off with her back to them, which increased the risk of them being caught on the turn or committing a foul.

As Kerr and the Matildas pushed Norway’s defensive line back, the Norwegian centrebacks closed the vise on Kerr in the centre. Every time Kerr came towards Norway’s box, Mjelde and Thorisdottir pocketed her, with the other Norwegian defenders covering other Australian attackers. By the time Kerr entered the box, she was so well-covered that her teammates rarely attempted to play the ball towards her.

Both Mjelde and Thorisdottir had one 1v1 moment with Sam Kerr that exemplified their control over her. In the 30′, Kerr attacked through Australia’s left outside of Norway’s box. Maren Mjelde came out to meet her, denying her a diagonal run into the box. Mjelde denied Kerr any lane to run towards Norway’s goal, forcing her shoulder-to-shoulder laterally across the top of the box until Mjelde could create enough space between Kerr and the ball to sweep it away from Kerr’s feet.

Within 30 seconds and about 10 passes of Maren Mjelde vanquishing Kerr at the top of Norway’s box, Norway was up 1-0. The Norwegians collected the ball Mjelde won and completed a quick triangle passing sequence at midfield, which ended with Karina Saevik laying a perfectly weighted ball into the path of Isabell Herlovsen.

Over an hour of football later in the 98′, Sam Kerr was running down the centre of the pitch into the final third. Thorisdottir slowed her run and cleared the ball with a hard, well-executed tackle that sent the ball to safety and left Kerr hoping in vain for a foul.

While Maren Mjelde had an almost impeccable game, putting a powerful shot on target from 25 yards and scoring her penalty kick to put Norway up 3-0 in the shoot-out, Maria Thorisdottir had one near-blemish.

In the 41′, Thorisdottir awkwardly leaned her chest into a bouncing ball at the top of the box. The ball was too high to kick or control with the thigh, and slightly too low for a normal header. The preferred option would have been an awkward and barely-coordinated header a la Phil Jones.

Thorisdottir made contact with the ball just below the shoulder, which prompted the referee to award a penalty to Australia. After the usual minutes-long decision of whether to consult VAR, followed by the minutes-long at-the-screen deliberation itself, the referee reversed her decision and Thorisdottir escaped.

Elsewhere on the pitch, Chelsea’s newest signing, Guro Reiten, was Norway’s main creative force, leading all players with nine chances created. Norway had an unusual tendency to run a lot of their play up the right. But after their goal (which came off the right), they balanced play better which allowed Reiten to take charge of Norway’s left moving forward.

Reiten, like her soon-to-be Chelsea teammate Mjelde, also scored her penalty, laying the pressure on Australia after Sam Kerr’s night found a way to get worse when she sent her attempt into the upper decks.

Norway will face the winner of Sunday’s game between England and Cameroon. If the Lionesses win, the resulting Women’s World Cup quarterfinal game will be a Chelsea FC Women’s derby with seven Blues amongst the two teams.