During Emma Hayes’ 300th match in charge of the Chelsea Women, the Blues pieced together a clinical performance on the road against a desperate Leicester City side. Hayes becomes just the fourth manager in the history of CFC on both the Men’s and Women’s sides to manage 300 or more games on the sideline. The discrepancy between the two teams on the table before the contest was evident, and right when the whistle blew, Chels’ demonstrated to the Foxes just exactly how much quality this year’s team possesses.
LCFC attempted to press Chelsea by pinning them back into their own half, but the link-up play was far too quick for a side that looks bound for the Championship in just a few short months. Despite Ann-Katrin Berger being called into action a few times, including a show-stopping save diving to her left in the second half, CFCW continued to break down the reeling Foxes’ defense behind the precision of arguably the most in-form player in the Women’s Super League at the moment, Guro Reiten.
For the first time in a while, the match did not include glowing Erin Cuthbert praise or even more realization of Kadeisha Buchanan continuing to grow into her own with the west London side because Hayes awarded the both of them with a well-earned day of rest. There were moments when the Blues were on the back foot, but when coming up against a side with a manager still seeking her first point at the club, CFC’s depth of talent was far too much to overcome for the home side.
Heading into Real Madrid, Hayes will bring a self-confident side that has not missed a beat for nearly three months. It is not just one person contributing, it is a multitude of players, and that is what makes this year’s Chelsea team so unique from the rest. It is not reliant on a 20-goal season from Sam Kerr anymore, the talent in front of the net, and creativity in the middle and out on the wings present the opposition with a mission to stall a well-balanced attack. With the west London side’s 11th consecutive win now in its back pocket, here are the lessons learned from another classic beatdown of the Foxes:
Guro Reiten is a cheat code
Just a few days after being nominated for WSL November Player of the Month, Reiten began her case for the December award just three days into the new month. Reiten collected five goal contributions alone in the first half, adding another four assists to her season tally, which now sits at 13 through the 12 matches. The Norwegian broke the deadlock in the fourth minute to begin the Blues’ goal fest with a world-class left-footed strike, and for the rest of the first 45 minutes, Reiten played creator.
Her curving ball to Kerr for the fifth and final goal of the first half was a thing of beauty, gliding past three Leicester defenders, and putting Kerr in the perfect position to find the bottom left corner. She now has two games this season with four assists, one in the WSL, and one in the Champions League. Reiten has more assists in those two matches combined this season than Kai Havertz has collected in the Premier League in 69 total games over three seasons. What Reiten is doing is unprecedented.
Her vision on top of the execution to make those kinds of passes that she is making in the final third is something this league, and possibly the women’s game has not seen at this consistent rate. With the way Reiten is playing at the moment, there seems to be no defense that she can’t crack with the swing of her left boot. She has accumulated at least one assist in four out of the last six games in all competitions for the Blues. From captaining Norway for the first time to becoming the most undroppable player in the Chelsea starting XI each time out, Reiten has had some remarkable first few months of her 2022/23 campaign both internationally and at the club level.
Winning by a large margin was essential
Despite Manchester United coming back to defeat Arsenal on the road a few weeks ago, the Blues needed to bring up their goal differential with both teams right below them in the table possessing a game in hand just three points behind the defending champions. Eight goals bring CFC’s goal differential to +22, four goals better than Marc Skinner, and the Red Devils. Even if both the Gunners and Manchester United tie the Blues on points, this thumping win at the King Power provides the Blues with a buffer to possibly stay atop the table after both clubs finish up their games in the end eventually.
Arsenal only managed to defeat Everton 1-0 at home despite having 14 shots on goal. This was the perfect time to capitalize on a side that has allowed four or more goals in four games in all competitions this season. Next up in the league is 11th-place Reading who have given up the third most goals in the WSL this season. Last season the title nearly came down to goal differential with the Gunners possessing a slim advantage if Chelsea slipped up late in the season. The more the Blues can ripple the back of the net against bottom-table teams, the better the chances of the tie-breaker for their fourth straight league title going into their favor.
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.
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.