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.
Sam Kerr is not going anywhere
This season for the Australian has not been as straightforward as some of the past campaigns. Filled with missed chances, and plenty of critics questioning her ability in front of the net, Kerr’s first few months of the season did not go exactly as she may have planned. It only took one in her final match of 2022 to find the back of the net. CFC was waiting for a moment of magic like that from its 29-year-old attacker all season, and when the ball found its way past goalkeeper, Sarah Bouhaddi, it was difficult not to reminisce about her display to finish the season in May against Manchester United.
Her xG was just 0.1 against the French side, but in Kerr’s last opportunity of the year to show the world the amount of talent she still has left in her, the Australian delivered in a way only she knew how. Despite the fact that Kerr already has double-digit goals to her name, this campaign has felt different from the ones of the past. She has accumulated her lowest goals per 90 minutes of any season during her CFC career of over four contests, but given the way Kerr concluded 2022 with a goal and an assist to her running mate, Lauren James, there is the hope of a second half of the season riddled with world-class finishes.
A truly collective team win with three quality goals
What was most impressive about the triumph in front of over 10,000 supporters was the way CFC found the back of the net. On top of one astounding finish by Kerr in the first half, the final two goals by CFC were ones that Hayes is going to be pointing at for the rest of the season. A mistake by PSG trying to play out from the back resulted in the second goal, but it was the one-touch passing from Fran Kirby, Kerr, and James that made the goal one any fan as sensational as it was.
The third one had to be the most memorable one of them all. From the breathtaking turn by Kerr to open up the defense to combination play from Reiten and captain Magdalena Eriksson, there was so much about that goal to marvel about. The Norwegian’s pass to Kirby behind the backline was as precise as it gets. The awareness of the English international to play it back to James when she very well could have taken it for herself sums up a goal that might be the Blues’ best of the 50 goals scored so far during this campaign.
Five different players touched the ball in the buildup to James’ finish, and if there was ever a definition in the dictionary for what a team goal is, that would be it. Continuing on the theme of the entire season, there was not just one player that shined under the Stamford Bridge lights, every CFC player that found their way onto the pitch discovered a way to affect the match in a positive manner. Whether it was Erin Cuthbert leading the team in tackles plus interceptions or Kirby accumulating five more shot-creating actions than any other Blues player through 90 minutes, this was a win that Hayes, and each and every member of the team should be proud of.
Chelsea Women send message to rest of Europe
Out of all the Champions League contests this week, Chelsea vs PSG was arguably the one that the most people had circled on their calendar. Sure, Lyon and Juventus were fighting it out for a spot in the quarterfinals, but when it comes to the amount of quality on both sides of the pitch, the two sides that battled it out in west London on Thursday night take the cake. Other than Arsenal’s beatdown of Lyon in the first match week of the Champions League season, the Blues’ 3-0 victory against Grace Geyoro and company may have been the most impressive. CFC allowed just four shots on target in 180 minutes against the leaders of the French top-flight this season.
It is difficult to think about a time when PSG’s potent attack tested the Blues at all. Chelsea’s defense led by Millie Bright, and Canadian international Kadeisha Buchanan halted any sort of progress by Precheur’s side going forward. The acquisitions over the summer have raised the bar for the Blues in the Champions League, adding much-needed depth, and some experience at all levels of the pitch. Despite all the talent, it was evident through two contests that CFC deserved to finish atop Group A.
Europe this season is filled with talented teams all over the map, but through six group-stage matches, only one finished with 16 points. The Blues are one of two teams to have not lost a single match in Champions League play so far. A convincing win against a top side to finish off the group stage for CFC should petrify teams like Barcelona and Wolfsburg.