On the one-year anniversary of Chelsea’s elimination from the Champions League group stage last season, the Blues took one step closer to European immortality. In Chelsea’s first trip to Albania in club history, Emma Hayes and the Blues found a way to win against a defensive-minded Vllaznia, dominating both on the pitch and in the stat sheet. CFC’s only main focus after defeating the nine-time Albanian league champions 4-0 is to finish atop the Group A standings and bring as much momentum into the break as possible.
For the second straight match in the UWCL against the Blues, Nikolin Leka and his side failed to accumulate even one shot on target with the goal this time around to frustrate CFC by sitting back and conceding essentially all the possession. Almost everyone contributed in a positive way on the final road trip in 2022, and most importantly nobody suffered an unneeded injury with Hayes giving some key rotational players like Millie Bright, and Magdalena Eriksson a full day of rest.
From the Serbian Jelena Cankovic once again proving her significance in the midfield for the Blues to the Dutch defender, Aniek Nouwen demonstrating just how deep this year’s Chelsea team truly is, Friday night at Loro Borici Stadium was exactly what this team needed after a near collapse at Kingsmeadow in the second half last time out. With the confirmation of quarter-final qualification, here are the takeaways from a memorable night out that showed just how far this team has come compared to this time last year.
Jelena Cankovic continues to impress at Chelsea
It is difficult to find a more in-form player on CFC over the last two contests. Sure, Guro Reiten is putting herself in the best player in the WSL discussion, but since making her first start in a Chelsea kit against Reading, the former FC Rosengard has added a new threat to the already talented Blues attack. Cankovic caught the opposition off guard for the second straight match, taking the free kick from outside the box as quickly as possible, setting up a goal each time for the west Londoners. While the Royals could argue that Johanna Rytting Kaneryd was offside, and Vllanzia could say the Blues should not have been allowed to take a free kick that close to the box that quickly, but at the end of the day, Cankovic’s quick thinking has to be praised.
The Serbian not only set up the second goal but whipped in a plethora of dangerous crosses along with making the right decisions in the final third to create continuous opportunities. Her left-footed cross in the second half that just made it over the Vllaznia defender and onto Sam Kerr’s head was incredibly impressive. Although Kerr did not convert on that particular chance, Cankovic could now become another option on top of Reiten that has the quality to generate opportunities with ease from wide areas.
Cankovic may have begun her CFC career slowly due to injuries, and Hayes implementing her into the system step by step, but as the Blues head into the break in just about a week, there is no telling just how valuable having a player like Cankovic for a long period of time is going to be. Her composure in multiple areas around the pitch to find that pass that breaks the line of defense makes the Blues less reliant on a midfielder like Erin Cuthbert who has been run into the ground with the number of minutes she has played in the beginning of the season.
Cankovic had the most shot-creating and goal-creating actions on Friday night while winning the most tackles on the other end of the pitch. It is hard to drop a player like Cankovic in the starting lineup currently, and with first place in the group up for grabs at Stamford Bridge next time out, Cankovic has the ability to show just how talented she is against one of the elites in all of Europe.
Patience and variety in the attack play key roles
The Blues may have found two goals within the first 20 minutes, but during the second half, finding the back of the net began to become hard to come by. Similarly to the matchup against Real Madrid at Kingsmeadow, CFC was challenged mentally. Chances were coming, but the finishing touch was just not quite there, especially for Kerr. After a disallowed goal, and several headers that went just wide, the Blues ended the match with two goals right at the end, including a penalty by a returning Maren Mjede who had not made an appearance since the first meeting with PSG in October.
It cannot be easy for a world-class goal scorer like Kerr to struggle as she has recently been in front of the net. Vllaznia’s defense can be an extremely frustrating side to play against, given its emphasis on the defensive side of things, but CFC kept creating opportunities through more than just one player. Whether it was Katerina Svitkova finding Kerr in the middle of the box or Fran Kirby causing all sorts of problems for Leka’s backline, the Blues not only attacked Vllaniza from all angles, but the chances were coming from players all over the pitch.
Eight different players had two or more shot-creating actions with Cankovic and French standout Eve Perisset leading the way with a combined 15 through 90 minutes. At the moment, Hayes can make an argument for nearly everyone in the starting XI, and while she can’t start every one of them, it is essential to build that confidence in as many players as possible when the time comes for Hayes to call upon that specific player.
Aniek Nouwen thrives in her second start of the season
For the 23-year-old Dutch defender, Aniek Nouwen there have not been many chances to show her value to the clubs since she signed in May of 2021. Perisset may have put on a quality display on the wing of the defense for the Blues, but for Nouwen to be as active and effective as she was in her first match in the Champions League since the infamous contest against Wolfsburg was simply remarkable. Nouwen has never started a Champions League match in a Chelsea kit before, but in her first one, the young Dutch defender led the Blues in completed passes with 109, finding her target more than 93 percent of the time.
Nouwen was also tied for the team lead in progressive passes with 13 along with Perisset. Filling in for Bright in European competition, especially with the way the co-captain is playing at the moment is no simple task, but Nouwen pieced together a display that should earn her more playing time in the near future. The addition of Kadeisha Buchanan and her inability to play in other positions make it difficult for Nouwen to earn a spot on the pitch consistently, but Friday night showed she is a talented center back of her own that has the ability to fill a role on a more routine basis.