Ajax 0-3 Chelsea Women: 3 standouts, Blues take comfortable lead back to London

1. Kadeisha Buchanan

Since Kadeisha Buchanan came to west London, we here at the PoL have been quite critical of her play. There was no doubt she experienced an adjustment period when she first came over from Lyon ahead of last season. With Millie Bright and Nathalie Björn watching from the sidelines due to injury, the Canadian has been immense.

We know her quality, we've seen it at the international level. The latest CONCACAF W Gold Cup was the perfect example of that. That confidence from a successful international break has to be playing a part in this recent form. Every pass, every movement exuded confidence. Just look at that turn in the final third to set up that second goal. There is no way she would have even tried that last season.

Serving as the left-sided center back under the lights at Johan Cruyff Arena, Buchanan was a straight-up formidable barrier. The Blues' No. 26 piled up a game-high 12 defensive actions and won an astounding seven aerial duels. Try to jump with Buchanan. Ajax found out the hard way that it's just not going to end in success. Her 10 duels won were second only to Melanie Leupolz who was class as well in the defensive midfield. She did all that while completing over 83 percent of her attempted passes for the 12th time in her last 13 European contests.

"She told me when she came to Chelsea that she wanted to be one of the best defenders in the world and I don’t think she’s always fulfilled that, and she knows that," said the honest Hayes. "The last two games I think she’s shown her best level in a Chelsea shirt."

The second leg of this tie is set for next Wednesday evening at Stamford Bridge following the Women's Super League fixture away at West Ham United.