Here’s Suzanne Wrack’s report from Stamford Bridge.
Since a shock opening-day defeat against Liverpool, Chelsea have cruised to the summit and while performances have not been quite as swaggering as last year, they have been brutally efficient.
It was no different at Stamford Bridge – which was scheduled to host the sell-out opening game of the season against West Ham before that match was postponed following the death of the Queen and tickets were transferred to this fixture.
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That win takes Chelsea to the top, with Arsenal and Manchester United on their tails.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chelsea Women | 8 | 14 | 21 |
| 2 | Arsenal Women | 7 | 16 | 18 |
| 3 | Man Utd Women | 7 | 13 | 18 |
| 4 | Man City Women | 7 | 9 | 15 |
| 5 | Aston Villa Women | 7 | 1 | 12 |
| 6 | Tottenham Hotspur Women | 6 | 0 | 9 |
| 7 | Everton Women | 7 | -2 | 9 |
| 8 | West Ham Women | 7 | -4 | 9 |
| 9 | Brighton & Hove Albion Women | 7 | -14 | 9 |
| 10 | Liverpool FC Women | 7 | -9 | 3 |
| 11 | Reading Women | 7 | -10 | 3 |
| 12 | Leicester Women | 7 | -14 | 0 |
Lauren James, named player of the match, speaks to the BBC.
It’s a great atmosphere at Stamford Bridge. We needed to get it started again coming back from an international break, and find some rhythm. We look forward to each games as it comes. I made the fans wait a long time last year and show them what I can do. It’s brilliant to have her back and healthy . We have brilliant staff who stood in for her.
Full-time: Chelsea 3-0 Tottenham
All over! That packed Stamford Bridge crowd got to see just why Chelsea have been so successful down the years, their expertise in seeing off troublesome opponents in full effect. Real Madrid next in the Champions League, after a happy return to the bench for Emma Hayes.
90 min: Three minutes added on.
89 min: Chelsea take it short, and then the ball drifts beyond the Spurs line. Emma Hayes looks a little unhappy with that but this has been easy enough for her team, the job done early doors.
88 min: Drew Spence sets off on mazy run but runs into traffic, and then Lauren James does the same, and Chelsea win a corner.
86 min: Ubogagu almost makes an instant impact, cutting down the left, and her cross finds Drew Spence who hits over. That has to count as a big miss, and a lapse in concentration from the Chelsea defence.
84 min: Off goes Ashleigh Neville, protected against a second yellow card. On comes Ubogagu, coming back from drugs ban but now back in the Tottenham fold.
83 min: Both teams passing the ball around calmly. It’s been a game played at a high tempo and Spurs, who had just five outfield subs at kick-off, are entitled to be tired.
80 min: Chelsea’s rejigged attack still looks dangerous enough, and Tottenham continue to be put through their paces.
77 min: The last of the Chelsea scorers goes off in Reiten, and so does Kadeisha Buchanan, who’s had a fine game. On come Svitkova and Nouwen.
75 min: Tottenham’s efforts extinguished? Lauren James continues the Chelsea onslaught, whipping the ball wide with her left, though it did come off the ever-active Neville.
73 min: Chelsea surge forward at last. Reiten leads the attack, Lauren James swings and misses and then Beth England attempts an improvisation but can’t keep it down.
72 min: Some hefty tackles flying in, Tottenham not forgetting the rivalry between these two clubs. And Chelsea have a Champions League assignment with Real Madrid to consider.
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70 min: Spurs the better team at the moment, again the lack of a cutting edge is problematic for them.
68 min: Ashleigh Neville and the referee’s dialogue continues, as she believes Spurs deserved a free-kick. The home fans seem distracted. A Mexican wave is taking place at the Bridge.
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65 min: Sam Kerr departs the scene, after scoring her eighth goal of the WSL season, and on comes Beth England. Fellow scorer Erin Cuthbert is off, too, and on comes Fran Kirby.
62 min: Chelsea have slowed up a little, perhaps locking things down with the title in mind. That’s their experience showing in these situations.
58 min: Jessica Naz hasn’t given up just yet for Spurs, and cuts in from the flank. Millie Bright has to clear the danger but credit to Tottenham for not letting their heads drop. They do lack a cutting edge, and that’s been the big difference.
55 min: Mille Bright has a dig now, and just can’t keep the ball down. They all fancy a London derby goal by the looks of things.
54 min: Chelsea have a penalty claim for a shirt pull on the rampaging Reiten but a free-kick on the edge of the box will have to do. Tottenham get it clear and can count themselves rather lucky.
51 min: Chelsea free-kick on the edge of the box, and Perisset whips it in for Reiten to head over. The chances stacking up.
Chelsea make a sub: Eriksson’s saunter up front was her last action, and on comes Jess Carter.
49 min: Eriksson, the Chelsea skipper, lopes all the way upfield to get a shot on goal. Total football, the Emma Hayes way.
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47 min: Ashleigh Neville, on a booking, steps on Erin Cuthbert’s foot. It looked a yellow, but the ref waves her away after a final warning. Lucky girl? Perhaps so.
46 min: We are back underway at the Bridge, Chelsea’s players huddle up before we go again. It’s been an enjoyable afternoon so far for the home fans. More of the same seems likely, or else we will have an WSL classic on our hands.
Half-time: Chelsea 3-0 Tottenham
Chelsea’s greater quality has told against a most game opposition. Sam Kerr’s class got it going, then a fine finish from Erin Cuthbert, and lastly that penalty. The minute Tottenham’s guard has dropped they have been punished.
45 min: One minute is added on.
44 min: Are Chelsea declaring before a second-half onslaught? It perhaps looks that way.
42 min: Chelsea now playing out from the back rather that looking to get it launched. Spurs’s early pressure has abated so they feel comfortable doing so, though Ashleigh Neville, who can be found at either end of the pitch, is chased down by Berger in Chelsea’s goal.
40 min: Rehanne Skinner, the Tottenham coach, has quite the repair job to do on her staff at half-time. They must be demoralised though Drew Spence has an effort on goal. She’s not given up yet.
38 min: This has been harsh on Tottenham but they have begun to make mistakes that keep being punished.
Goal! Chelsea 3-0 Tottenham (Reiten, 36)
Reiten sends the goalie the wrong way and this is turning into a rout. Welcome back, Emma Hayes.
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Penalty to Chelsea!
It’s stonewall. Lauren James cuts across the box and Ashleigh Neville can only trip her. Yellow card.
34 min: Drew Spence and Erin Cuthbert run into each other, poleaxing the Chelsea player but she wipes herself down when there’s a possibility of a head injury, and then carries on.
33 min: Tottenham’s main issue appears to be the lack of the striker. Had they a Sam Kerr, then we might be level.
30 min: And Spurs keep pushing on, to their immense credit. Drew Spence remains at the heart of it all.
28 min: This could get ugly for Spurs and yet they’ve played…just fine.
Goal! Chelsea 2-0 Tottenham (Cuthbert, 26)
They can score from long range, too. The ball drops from a corner to the edge of the box and Erin Cuthbert gives it the full leather, spinning into the goal, always bending beyond Korpela.
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23 min: Kerr again is the target of a long ball from Cuthbert, and she again holds up play, only to this time hit straight at Korpela. Chelsea are mixing it up, and are prepared to look for the long balls.
21 min: Korpela, the Tottenham goalie, shows bravery in diving to the feet of Sam Kerr to make a low save. And a necessary one, too.
19 min: Tottenham continue to be dangerous, and Drew Spence has the ball whipped from under her as she gets the ball on the edge of the area.
17 min: Chelsea cough up a chance, as Perisset loses possession and Neville tries from distance. Berger is equal to the task.
15 min: Chelsea want another. Reiten escapes down the flank, loops over a ball for Cuthbert but no connection is made.
14 min: That’s what Sam Kerr having Sam Kerr things can do to the opposition.
Goal! Chelsea 1-0 Tottenham (Kerr, 13)
Against the run of play, and the first time she got through. Millie Bright gets it launched, Kerr holds off two defenders and then looks for the space to aim for, slotting into the side-netting. All that good Tottenham work gone to waste.
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11 min: Sam Kerr at last gets a touch, but Tottenham’s Turner gets the ball clear. Spurs have been much the better team. Then Drew Spence takes a heavy tackle. That won’t stop her being able to carry on, she has a point to prove.
9 min: Early booking for Bizet, for shirt-pulling. She’s on sudden death already, then.
8 min: Tottenham have a free-kick chance. Ambitious from here but Summanen takes it on. That’s not the end of the attack, and Chelsea have to clear at haste to stop Jessica Naz in her tracks.
7 min: It’s been a quiet start, in truth, and perhaps that’s a result of both teams playing away from their usual home. Kingsmeadow is such a stronghold for Chelsea.
5 min: Chelsea mount a first proper attack, and Tottenham’s Bartrip clears the danger.
3 min: Both teams playing out from the back, and Tottenham are pressing high up, forcing a couple of errors. Millie Bright is forced to clear danger at the back. Drew Spence, against her former club, pings in the first shot. No problem for goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger.
1 min: And after the players take the knee, off they go in the south-west London sunshine. Emma Hayes is already audible from the sidelines. Welcome back, Ems.
The teams take to the field at the Bridge to the sound of Harry J. All Stars’s The Liquidator. There’s a large Tifo flag being passed around The Shed.
Emma Hayes speaks to the BBC on her return to frontline duties. She’s been communicating via ear-piece during matches.
I’m super proud of everyone. So many amazing people have been able to deliver, I am back to support them now. I love our fans and I am so excited to see them. The team’s in a really good place.
Stamford Bridge is sold out, and we have some lovely late-autumnal, early-winter sun.
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Emma Hayes had this powerful point to make on her return to the dugout.
It’s up to our government and the decisions they make to invest in the healthcare industry,” the manager said in her first press conference since surgery. “[They need to make sure that] every medical professional is up to speed with women’s health and women’s gynaecology and if not, they need to have more gynaecologists available.
I think it’s unacceptable to wait for prolonged periods to see a gynaecologist in this country on the NHS. And I have to say this: if these conditions were suffered by a man, there would be zero chance you would be waiting for a prolonged period.
This is the standard these two are aspiring to.
In front of the second-largest WSL crowd of 40,064, after the 47,367 that attended Arsenal’s defeat of Tottenham at the Emirates, United took the lead through Ella Toone late in the first half before Arsenal struck back in the second. Frida Maanum drew Arsenal level before Laura Wienroither gave them the lead.
United flipped the script though, with Katie Zelem delivering twice from set pieces, first for Millie Turner, then Alessia Russo to send the hefty away contingent wild.
Here are the teams
Your Chelsea team today! 😍#CFCW pic.twitter.com/v28mEXMRB7
— Chelsea FC Women (@ChelseaFCW) November 20, 2022
Chelsea: Berger, Perisset, Bright, Kadeisha Buchanan, Eriksson, Cuthbert, Ingle, Fleming, James, Kerr, Reiten. Subs: Musovic, Nouwen, Carter, England, Svitkova, Kirby, Johanna Kaneryd, Charles, Abdullina.
Our team to face @ChelseaFCW ✊ pic.twitter.com/8GLTO4QJhl
— Tottenham Hotspur Women (@SpursWomen) November 20, 2022
Tottenham: Korpela, Turner, Bartrip, Zadorsky, Ale, James, Summanen, Neville, Ildhusoy, Naz, Spence. Subs: Harrop, Cho, Ubogagu, Spencer, Ayane, Pearse.
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Preamble
Stamford Bridge is a stage too rarely trod by Chelsea’s usually all-conquering women’s team. And the home team could really do with a win, to put pressure on Arsenal, who surrendered their 100 percent record on Saturday, and Manchester United, who took it off them. After losing their first game of the season at Liverpool, Emma Hayes’ team have recovered their step somewhat, and after beating United two weeks ago, will fancy their chances. Hayes herself is returning to the dugout after having a hysterectomy, though says he is unlikely to be “back to normal'” until the new year. Her team, and backroom staff, Paul Green and Denise Reddy, have done well without her but it will be a relief to have the champion coach back in harness. Tottenham’s previous match with Manchester City was postponed, though their last match, on 30 October, saw them win 8-0 at Brighton. Spurs are in mid-table but having played two games fewer than most, have chance to climb higher should they win this London derby.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal Women | 7 | 16 | 18 |
| 2 | Man Utd Women | 7 | 13 | 18 |
| 3 | Chelsea Women | 7 | 11 | 18 |
| 4 | Man City Women | 7 | 9 | 15 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur Women | 5 | 3 | 9 |
| 6 | Aston Villa Women | 6 | 0 | 9 |
| 7 | Everton Women | 7 | -2 | 9 |
| 8 | West Ham Women | 7 | -4 | 9 |
| 9 | Brighton & Hove Albion Women | 6 | -16 | 6 |
| 10 | Liverpool FC Women | 6 | -7 | 3 |
| 11 | Reading Women | 6 | -9 | 3 |
| 12 | Leicester Women | 7 | -14 | 0 |
