Chelsea shocked in opener once again: Lessons in defeat

Chelsea’s Kadeisha Buchanan could make a run at Player of the Season

Before the foul in the box late in the game that arguably could have gone either way, the Canadian international, Kadeisha Buchanan was without question one of the best players on the pitch. Before the season began, some said that the five-time Champions League-winning center-back was the key for Chelsea to get over the hump on the European stage.

Whether it was with timely tackles, or her ability to find her teammate in the right position, Buchanan gave the WSL a preview of how difficult it is going to be to score on the Blues in open play with the former Lyon star roaming in the middle of the back-three. She made a darting run in the second half, chipping a ball over the top of the defense, but it ended up being too strong in the end.

Hayes could not ask for a more dominant defense than Bright, Magdalena Eriksson, and Buchanan in the middle of all of it. Giving up two penalties in the second half was uncharacteristic of a Chelsea back line that did not concede a single penalty during the last season’s WSL campaign. Sometimes a defender is judged by a single play that happened during a game that cost the team in the end. Buchanan may have given up the penalty that sealed the deal for the Reds, but her activity in the back makes her, if not the most important defender on the roster, the most critical piece to ultimate success going forward.