Chelsea fans were finally gifted with some joy in a league fixture at Stamford Bridge this season. In a highly anticipated home opener in SW6, Chelsea Women broke the curse of the first match week, taking down a Tottenham Hotspur side seeking to turn a corner this campaign. Sunday’s 2-1 triumph was the first to open a WSL campaign since 2019 against Spurs.
Despite a sluggish start to the game, the Blues were able to use a first half goal by American international Mia Fishel and a Lauren James volley to capture all three points. First matches of the season are not supposed to be perfect. It was clear from kick off that the international break had an effect on the team. Emma Hayes released somewhat of a surprise starting XI, featuring two players making their debuts for the club and Ann-Katrin Berger sitting on the bench as the No. 2 option between the sticks.
Sam Kerr, Erin Cuthbert, and Catarina Macario, three players that would all start when healthy were out of the squad on Sunday evening as each of them continues to recover from an injury. According to Hayes’ post-game press conference, Kerr will be in the squad next week
The west Londoners came out of the half on a mission to put the game away. The only issue was the club only managed to net one goal, leaving the door open for the north London outfit to take advantage. A mis-control by Zecira Musovic allowed former Manchester United striker Martha Thomas to cut the deficit to one. The Swedish stop-stopper was forced to make two more saves late in order to secure the result in front of a passionate home crowd.
So. Wholesome. 🫶@MiaFishel10 talks us through her first goal as a Blue! 💙 pic.twitter.com/eRHw3zerAo
— Chelsea FC Women (@ChelseaFCW) October 1, 2023
Before the west London outfit heads north to Manchester for next weekend’s fixture, here are three takeaways from the debut of the “Infinite Athlete Blues”.