Chelsea Women had a midweek clash with West Ham in the Subway Women's League Cup Semi-Final and the result was a comfortable win for the Blues. Johanna Rytting Kaneryd started the fun for Chelsea as she found a gap in the West Ham defense and squeezed a tight finish between keeper Kinga Smezik and the near post.
It was a classy finish that came at the end of a failed West Ham clearance as Rytting Kaneryd reacted faster than the defenders around her before smashing it home from a tight angle. The goal was worthy of a major trophy semifinal and was a sign of things to come.
Less than 10 minutes later the Blues doubled their advantage after some sloppy play in their own half by the West Ham defenders. The Blues pressed West Ham midfielder Katrina Gorry and she made the mistake of squaring it to her centerback but left the pass short. The combined pressing of Sjoeke Nusken and Guro Reiten won possession and Nusken was quickly clear on goal before fooling Szemik and putting away the second goal of the night.
Chelsea were unable to extend their advantage further but the rest of the night was still comfortable as they dominated the match with nearly 67% possession. They also managed 18 shots to West Ham’s 7 and had 34 touches in the opposition box compared to just 14 for West Ham.
The Chelsea Women are now on a 22-match unbeaten streak in all competitions and are still alive in four major competitions. New manager Sonia Bompastor has not experienced a loss in her new gig and we hope that continues through the League Cup final in March. They now await the winner of the other semifinal between two-time defending champions Arsenal and Manchester City who last lifted the trophy in 2022.
The victory over West Ham marked the sixth successive time the Blues have made the League Cup final but they have not lifted the trophy since 2021. They are dominant in the WSL and have beaten both of their potential fianl opponents in the league but anything can happen in a one-off match like that. Regardless of who the opponent is the Blues should feel confident of securing that League Cup for the first time in four years.