Chelsea Women won 3-0 against Paris Saint-Germain Féminine (PSG) at Stamford Bridge to finish top of the Champions League Group A. Impressive goals from Lauren James and Sam Kerr resulted in another victory for the Blues, and marked the 30th match in a row the team has scored.
Chelsea needed to avoid a 2-0 defeat in order to finish top of the group. As Emma Hayes already warned this week, the Blues would not be complacent and were aiming for a victory, which they secured in a flawless fashion.
Lauren James up front was a standout in the first half. Fighting for every ball and desperate to win every tackle, she had several shots at goal, though all were saved by goalkeeper Sarah Bouhaddi.
While James and Erin Cuthbert worked determinedly for opportunities in the Blues’s end, PSG also continued to keep pushing forward. With possession split right down the middle, it was hard to tell which way it was going to go as the clock kept ticking and neither side had a goal on the scoreboard.
Around 15 minutes in, PSG had their first real chance of a goal thanks to Kadidiatou Diani. Despite the impressive shot, the striker was out of luck, however, thanks to a remarkable jump from keeper Zecira Musovic who had the crowd sucking in for air before saving the goal with the very tips of her fingers.
Cuthbert was taken down dramatically with an injury following a tackle, but play continued down the other end until Bouhaddi came out of her goal to check on the player and raised her hands for the referee to blow the whistle. The referee eventually halted the game and Cuthbert limped to the sidelines, though returned to the action on the pitch shortly after.
James took a shot at goal, aiming for the right-hand corner, but Bouhaddi saved it, keeping the score 0-0.
Kerr, however, gained possession of the ball a few minutes later and dribbled it past two defenders and straight into the top corner.
Despite PSG coming back after half-time with even more energy, this was not enough as James secured another goal for the Blues just ten minutes into the second half.
Fran Kirby brought both speed and scrappiness, helping create opportunities up front. Meanwhile, with Millie Bright holding firm on the backline, the Blues were in good shape.
A PSG corner led to a close shave for Chelsea, who ultimately kept the ball out of the goal thanks to defenders Bright and Kadeisha Buchanan.
Chelsea refused to turn complacent at the behest of the 2-0 score. This energy paid off when Kirby came close to the goal, passing to James at the last second who shot it to the back of the net, marking her second goal in 10 minutes, and a third for Chelsea this game.
A shot from captain Grace Guyoro almost gave PSG their first goal, but it narrowly missed.
In the 85th minute, Bethany England, fresh on the pitch, almost made it four, going for a shot off a pass from Kirby before overshooting to the left and missing.
Chelsea has once again dominated the scoreboard, taking home three goals and finishing top of its Champions League group ahead of PSG thanks to a determined team and phenomenal strikers Kerr and James.