3 Standout players as Chelsea Women slaughter Everton at Kingsmeadow

With Manchester City dropping points earlier in the day, the Chelsea Women took full advantage, smashing Everton by seven goals a week before the FA Cup final.

What an afternoon it was at Kingsmeadow with eight different players contributing to at least one of the seven goals on Sunday evening. For the third time this season in all competitions, Emma Hayes’ Chelsea Women have found the back of the net seven or more times in 90 minutes. Coming off of a match against Liverpool on their home turf where they were forced to come from behind, this was exactly what this club needed. It did not began as straightforward as the west London outfit may have liked with Brian Sorenson’s Everton controlling the majority of the possession early on.

The on-ball pressure lacked from Hayes’ side to begin Sunday’s proceedings, but as the match went on, the Blues adjusted. Goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan stood no chance between the sticks as the west Londoners’ precision in the final third proved too much. In total, the home side racked up 11 shots on target out of their 17 in total. Seeing the ball ripple the back of the net numerous times was the confidence boost this team needed with just five matches remaining in the campaign.

It was the club’s most goals in the WSL at Kingsmeadow since April of 2021 when Sam Kerr hit a hat-trick against Birmingham City in a 6-0 triumph. To have only scored four goals in the previous four matches in all competitions, and then piece together an outing like this against a solid team like Sorenson’s side is exactly what you come to expect from Hayes-led teams at the end of a campaign.

Kerr left the match for precautionary reasons in the first half, but with a loaded bench, the Blues continued to pile it on. Nearly everyone contributed to the cause with Hayes playing every field player listed on the bench expect for Melanie Leupolz who was due for a day off. With four matches left in the Women’s Super League, the west Londoners are just four points behind the current leaders Manchester United who have just two league contests remaining. Gareth Taylor’s Manchester City stumbled against Liverpool, losing 2-1, making it an uphill climb for them to finish as a top-two team in the WSL for the first time since 2020/2021. Hayes and the Blues have been there and done that, and that experience is paying off. Here are the 3 individuals who shined on Sunday evening as the west London outfit sent the opposition packing before the halftime whistle blew.

3 standout Chelsea Women players

3. Pernille Harder

This is what the west London side has been waiting for. The Danish international Pernille Harder is one of the best footballers in the world for a reason. For the first time since late October of 2022 at Brighton and Hove Albion, Harder has found the back of the net in the English top-flight. From the moment she stepped on the pitch for Kerr, her presence was felt. Two games against the Toffees this season, and the 30-year-old has four goals.

Within the first minute of coming on, Harder put the game officially out of reach of Sorenson’s club. She has that innate ability to find the ball no matter where she begins her run into the box. Harder just knows where to be as she made herself an option in the final third, finding the end of Guro Reiten cross in the first half, and an Erin Cuthbert pass in the second. The Danish international had three shots on target to lead the team, netting two goals in a WSL match for the first time since March of last season against West Ham United. Two different feet, same distance, same result. Just like in October, the Merseyside club had no answers for what Harder presented in the frontline.

Seeing Harder be herself on the pitch and play more then 40 minutes for the first time since November is massive as a cup final approaches on May 14. There was not much resistance from the opponents backline, but there is nothing the Dane can do about that. No. 23 is back, and while her contract situation is still yet to be resolved, she is ripping it up in Chelsea blue when the club needs it the most at the end of the season. With Leicester City in the mid-week, it is another opportunity for Hayes to ramp Harder’s minutes even higher with the potential of her making a start at Wembley with silverware on the line. Her time at CFC has been hampered with injuries, but it is no secret that when she does lace up her boots, she is an immediate difference maker.

2. Johanna Rytting Kaneryd

The Swedish international Johanna Rytting Kaneryd was one of just five field players to contribute a full 90 minutes. The Swede racked up her third assist since joining the west Londoners in the summer, making a dazzling run into the middle of the Toffees’ defense before finding Reiten on the wing who smashed her shot into the bottom right hand corner of the net. The Blues’ No. 19 took advantage of a lucky bounce that fell right into her lap, providing Reiten with the perfectly weighted service to stroke the ball past Bronson.

With Lauren James playing predominantly in her position on the right wing all season, Kaneryd’s minutes have been few and far between. She had made just six starts in the English top-flight this season, collecting 90 minutes in five of those appearances. Whenever she makes it on the pitch, her work rate consistently stands out. She is a player that with her one-on-one ability could blossom into something special once she gets a few years in west London under her belt. The numbers behind her outing back it up.

Only Niamh Charles had more tackles plus interceptions at Kingsmeadow this past weekend. 28 touches in the attacking third, and eight in the penalty area were more than any other blue Sunday evening. Kaneryd received seven more progressive passes than anyone else on the pitch.

She very well could have scored a goal of her own in the 60′ off a James cross, but the power on her strike was not enough to beat Bronson. It was a display that may get overlooked by some people, but there was nobody more active near the goal mouth throughout this match than Kaneryd.

1. Jessie Fleming

At times, it has been a struggle to find the perfect position for Canadian international Jessie Fleming with the west Londoners. The Blues’ No. 17 has at points battled for minutes, but after signing an extension with the club just a few months ago, it has become clear she is going to be part of Hayes’ long-term plans. For the third straight game in the WSL, Fleming has been among the starting XI. Her work ethic off the ball in the press combined with her quickness going forward make the Canadian someone that could become one of the league’s best midfielders.

She put out a quality performance against Liverpool during the mid-week, but in the weekend clash against the other Merseyside club, she may have been even better. Not only did she collect a goal and an assist within a three minute span to put a cherry on top of a stellar last 25 minutes of the first half for the home side, Fleming completed 85 percent of her passes while leading the team in final third entries.

She has not scored a goal since December 3 against the Foxes of Leicester City, making her right-footed strike in stoppage time of the first half a relief for a player that bagged six goals in the domestic league last season.

For the first time since the Everton match during the last campaign, Fleming has played a part in two WSL goals for the west London outfit. Her goal scoring threat is something that could come into play again this season, especially given the morale boost a goal and an assist this past weekend must have given her.