Chelsea Women: Five of the best matches from the 2022/2023 campaign
From the run in the Champions League to another domestic double, this past season for the Chelsea Women has to be considered one of the most memorable in history.
Each season with Emma Hayes at the helm for the Chelsea Women, the team never fails to deliver some unforgettable performances. The first contest of the season has always been a hiccup, but never once has this side overreacted. It was a campaign that can be described as not only a step forward, but a reminder to the rest of Europe’s giants that the Blues are inching closer to another UEFA Women’s Champions League final. Considering all the moments sprinkled from September to the end of May, it is difficult to nail down just a few that stick out.
Sometimes it is about the quality of play from the west Londoners’, but other times it is their ability to get over the line in order to stay alive in certain competitions. A Champions League semifinal run, a third succussive FA Cup, and 22 league matches. Unlike the men’s side, there is far too much to chose from, but here are five of the best Chelsea Women’s matches from a campaign packed with highs.
Top-five contests across all competitions for the Chelsea Women in 2022/2023.
5. Chelsea v Everton, Women’s Super League
Date: May 7, 2023
Venue: Kingsmeadow
Result: 7-0 Chelsea
With goal differential looking to be an issue as the season came to a close against Manchester United, the Blues made a statement on their home turf. After a tough 2021/2022 campaign, Everton flipped the script under the new leadership of Brian Sorensen. The Toffees had won two out of their last three matches in the league heading to Kingsmeadow on May 7. From Hayes’ perspective, the west Londoners’ lacked energy to begin the match, but as the contest went on, Pernille Harder led a display that had an incredible sense of urgency to it.
The west London side had six different goal scorers on that Sunday. Never once in this match did the Blues take their foot off the gas. In the previous match, Hayes’ side was forced to come from behind against Liverpool, but back in the confines of Kingsmeadow, this was where the west Londoners’ put their stamp on the WSL title. You can’t get better than seven goals against a top-six side in the domestic top-flight. That is what end of season Hayes sides do, score one goal and never look back.
It was the Toffees’ largest defeat of the campaign across all competitions as Manchester City and Arsenal only managed to take down Sorensen’s team by one goal on their home turfs. The Blues’ efficiency was prolific, making the oppositions’ goalkeeper work with 11 of their 17 total shots on target.
Harder was extraordinary, scoring two while assisting Jessie Fleming just before halftime. After watching this game transpire, it was the perfect example of why it is going to be a tall task to replace someone with the quality of the Danish international.