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Chelsea celebrate Hayes milestone in style: takeaways from Leicester thrashing

By Caden Charpentier

Fran Kirby of Chelsea celebrates with teammates (Photo by Cameron Smith/Getty Images)
Fran Kirby of Chelsea celebrates with teammates (Photo by Cameron Smith/Getty Images) /
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Alberto Toril (L), head coach of Real Madrid CF shake hands with Emma Hayes, head coach of Chelsea FC Women (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images) /

Giving players deserving playing time, and valuing the rest of Chelsea stars

With Chelsea putting the game to bed before the halftime whistle, Emma Hayes was presented with the opportunity to give players that have not seen much of the pitch so far this season. Five players that had contributed to less than 200 total minutes of football before the match in all competitions had the opportunity to see the pitch in a competitive contest. In matches like these, it would have been nice to see many of these rotational pieces in the starting lineup, but it looked as if Hayes wanted to respect the Foxes before she went deep into the bench.

One of the newest additions to the Chelsea team over the summer, Jelena Cankovic returned to action for just the third time this season and the first time since the end of September against West Ham. The 21-year-old Russian defender, Alsu Abdullina came in for the seventh Chels appearance of her career and connected with Bethany England for her second assist of the season in all competitions.

England netted her second goal this season with a crafty header just a few minutes after coming on. At times Kerr has unusually struggled in front of the net this season, and while she has an incredible influence on every match with her pressing, England deserves more opportunities to start games. She may not be as dynamic in the frontline, but the finishing ability from England is still very much there. The English international is far too good to be constantly listed as a substitute. Kerr is no doubt the No. 1 striker, but a rotation for the next few games before the break to see how England reacts could benefit the team long-term with the number of games left in the season.

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Fran Kirby received her first shot at a full 90 minutes in a CFC kit for the first time since the Manchester City match in the league in September. Getting Kirby now back in the goals, and filled with confidence heading into the UWCL only bodes well for the options Hayes will now have in her arsenal. Harder may be out for a significant period of time, but this club has a plethora of players all over the pitch contributing in positive ways.

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