Despite some somewhat sluggish play during a chunk of the first half, Chelsea Women followed up Manchester City's Saturday triumph with a 4-0 win away from west London against a much improved Leicester City side.
Two chances converted just before halftime accompanied by a smooth second 45 minutes propelled Emma Hayes' crew to yet another shutout of the Foxes on their home soil. The west London outfit has now picked up a clean sheet in six out of the last seven fixtures against the Foxes. The possession was split 50-50, but the Blues had a much easier job challenging Lize Kop. 10 of their 20 shots were on frame compared to just five total from the home side.
It was a storybook-type night for USWNT attacker Catarina Macario. You could not have scripted it better. The American picked up right where she left off more than 600 days ago in France. Just six minutes into her first professional football match back since June 1, 2022, the west Londoners' No. 9 found her way onto the scoresheet. To say she is critical going forward in these final months is an understatement. Macario could very well be the key with the combination of Mayra Ramirez up front.
A message from @CatarinaMacario. 🥹 pic.twitter.com/7eJPtCekAD
— Chelsea FC Women (@ChelseaFCW) March 3, 2024
It was a match filled with a whole lot of firsts. Ramírez netted her first Women's Super League while Nathalie Björn and Macario found the back of the net for the first time in their respective CFCW careers. The Swede broke the deadlock in the 38' with an acrobatic finish from some poor defending by the Foxes on a set-piece. From there, the road was as smooth as they come. The Colombian's persistence and strength up top put the home side into an even deeper hole heading back into the dressing room.
Kirk's crew was never able to recover the kind of pressure it put the away side under during a good portion of the first 45 minutes. A brilliant Jelena Cankovic through ball in the 64' put Johanna Rytting Kaneryd in behind to net her third league goal of the campaign. 14 minutes later, an Aggie Beever-Jones progressive run created the moment of the evening for Macario. After a sensational first touch, Chelsea's No. 9 took the opportunity with such composure as if she'd missed just one month of football.
The three points move the four-time defending league champions back to the top of the table with a plus-three lead in goal differential over Gareth Taylor's Citizens.
Hayes was very calm in the post-match speaking on the grueling March ahead.
"Go home, rest, get a good night’s sleep. I don’t get too fazed with it," Hayes explained. "We have to get ready for a game against Manchester City midweek and I’m just proud of some of the young players, new players, they’re growing into Chelsea shirts and I really enjoyed watching them play.”
The eight-match month of March continues in the mid-week, but before the attention turns to the Conti Cup, let's relieve yesterday evening with our three biggest takeaways from the east Midlands.