Precisely what Chelsea ordered: takeaways from resounding PSG win
Emma Hayes and the Blues had the option to lose their last match at Stamford Bridge in 2022, and still top the group, but behind a clinical attack and a defense that stymied a talented frontline, CFC pieced together arguably the most impressive win of the season to date. Despite some inconsistencies in some performances as of late during certain points in matches, the first half of the season could not have gone any better, and with the way the Blues finished one of the best teams in all of Europe to conclude 2022, there is no question.
From an emphatic left-footed finish by Sam Kerr to Lauren James putting the icing on the cake of this calendar year, the Blues could not have asked for a better way to head into the holidays than the display they put on against Gerard Precheur and the club sitting atop the French top flight at the moment. A depleted Arsenal side awaits the Blues in January, but for now, CFC turns its heads away from football with a more than three-week hiatus now in session.
With just nine goals allowed in 16 total matches, the Blues have entirely put the first match week of the season behind them, and taken the challenge of many top sides head-on. Precheur and Paris Saint-Germain have lost to one team in 19 games through the month of December. It was the largest loss this club has endured since last season’s 6-1 thumping delivered by rivals, Lyon in the Division 1 Féminine. Despite a below-par display under the lights in the second half against Reading a week ago, Hayes and her side proved once again to be the kryptonite to a club that made it all the way to the Champions League semi-finals last season.
It has not only been many months to remember for individuals like Guro Reiten or Sophie Ingle, this team demonstrated the importance of coming together as one in order to accomplish the task at hand. While PSG heads into the break filled with questions about how it will compete with the best of the best in Europe, the Blues close-up shop for now brimming with confidence following its most impressive display through 16 matches in all competitions. With three months of the season down, here are the takeaways from a storybook ending at Stamford Bridge to a start of a campaign loaded with successes.