With two open-play goals in their last three games, a lot of the talk coming into Chelsea's Women's Champions League clash with Paris FC on Wednesday night was about the dominant force in English football, and one of the front-runners for this trophy, not being quite themselves in front of goal. But Sonia Bompastor's Blues were able to quieten those doubters in their final game before the international break, with a 4-0 victory over the Parisians at Stamford Bridge.
At first, it looked like that devastatingly clinical touch remained somewhat absent, with Aggie Beever-Jones, who scored in all of her first four Women's Super League outings last month, scuffing a couple of great chances into the grateful arms of Mylene Chavas. But once Sandy Baltimore broke the deadlock from the spot, after the award of a rather fortuitous penalty, Chelsea got into the sort of groove in front of goal that has become ominously familiar in recent years.
Johanna Rytting Kaneryd doubled that lead a few minutes later with a truly terrific header that seemed to even surprise herself, while Beever-Jones was unlucky not to make it three before the break when her near-post flick from Erin Cuthbert's corner struck the underside of the bar. Alyssa Thompson would do so instead, adding to her assist for Rytting Kaneryd with a clinical finish at the far post just two minutes after the restart.
Chelsea's attacking threat only grew once Bompastor used that third goal as a trigger to turn to her bench, with the likes of Sam Kerr and Guro Reiten coming on to wrap things up. It was Kerr's header that created the chance for Cuthbert to make it four just past the hour and Reiten was unlucky not to round things off with a fifth, when her strike clipped the top of the crossbar. But the job was already well and truly done, as the Blues got their first Champions League win of a season which they will hope ends with them finally getting their hands on that elusive European trophy.
GOAL rates Chelsea's players from Stamford Bridge…
Getty ImagesGoalkeeper & Defence
Hannah Hampton (6/10):
Positioned herself well to sweep up any danger and distributed the ball tidily. Had very little to do in terms of shot-stopping.
Sjoeke Nusken (7/10):
Slotted in impressively in an unfamiliar right-back role, showing no hesitancy to get forward and support the attack before moving into midfield in the second half.
Nathalie Bjorn (7/10):
Excellent in her ground duels and, as always, fantastic on the ball.
Millie Bright (7/10):
Stepped up several times to snuff out danger before it could develop in another rock-solid display following her international retirement.
Sandy Baltimore (7/10):
Perhaps her best performance of the season so far. Grew in confidence after her clinical spot-kick, running successfully at her marker on plenty of occasions while also getting through a lot of good defensive work.
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Keira Walsh (8/10):
A classy display in which she regularly split the Paris defence open, with her assist for Thompson's goal a particularly beautiful pass.
Erin Cuthbert (7/10):
Brought plenty of energy and quality to the middle of the park and showed good goal-scoring instincts to stab in Chelsea's fourth of the day.
Wieke Kaptein (6/10):
Moved the ball well and did plenty of work out of possession, too.
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Johanna Rytting Kaneryd (7/10):
Doubled Chelsea's lead with a brilliantly-taken header that wasn't easy to direct towards goal. Good in possession but lacked accuracy with her crosses.
Aggie Beever-Jones (6/10):
Showed good movement off the ball and took up great goal-scoring positions – just lacked that clinical finish which has been on show for most of the season.
Alyssa Thompson (8/10):
Continued her run of lively performances and this time added stronger end product, getting a goal and an assist in less than an hour on the pitch.
Getty ImagesSubs & Manager
Sam Kerr (7/10):
Got her longest run-out yet since her return with a good 35 minutes off the bench. Caused Paris plenty of problems with her presence and clever movement and that led to good moments, most notably the fourth goal.
Guro Reiten (7/10):
Picked up where Thompson left off, bringing real directness and threat down the left.
Maika Hamano (6/10):
Worked hard in a slightly unfamiliar wide role and was involved in some nice play, even if she couldn't make as great an impact as some of the other subs.
Lucy Bronze (6/10):
After making her return from injury in the final minutes of Sunday's win over Tottenham, she continued her comeback with a good 30-minute appearance here in which she brought her usual athleticism and attacking threat down the right.
Lexi Potter (N/A):
The teenager looked sharp and full of confidence as she made her senior Chelsea debut in the closing stages.
Sonia Bompastor (7/10):
Had a decision to make at right-back, picking an unnatural option, but chose perfectly by selecting the dependable Nusken as part of a very strong XI which contrasted heavily with the rotated line-up that couldn't get the job done at Twente last week. That approach paid off in an important win, the commanding nature of which allowed Bompastor to rest some players in the second half while handing out valuable minutes to the likes of Kerr and Bronze.
