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WSL

Chelsea VS Everton Match Analysis

Image via @evertonwomen on instagram, words by Sophie Hodson

OVERVIEW
The points were shared in the battle of the Blues at Stamford Bridge on Saturday in the WSL. Chelsea hosted Everton, who were hoping to repeat or better their away fixture result against Sonia Bompastor’s side last season, where the Toffees ended Chelsea’s 34 game unbeaten streak. Given the form the home side are in, it was an expected victory for the most part, but Everton deservingly stole 2 points from them. Scott Phelan’s players looked sharp from the outset, every player on the field was up for the challenge and refused to let the title contenders sustain any extended spells of possession.

Sandy Baltimore put the Blues in front in the 28 th minute from a brilliant header assisted by Lucy Bronze. Bronze then found herself down the other end of the pitch 5 minutes later, where the England International scored an own goal, giving Everton one back. Chelsea proceeded to show
attacking intent, but Everton did an impressive job of quickly closing off space down the wings, winning their 1v1s and defending in a compact shape. Neither team looked overly convincing in front of goal and the score line finished 1-1, a well-earned point for Everton to take back home
and a frustrating draw at home for Chelsea.

ELLIE CARPENTER
Carpenter is a consistent threat for the Chelsea Blues and has featured in the starting lineup in every WSL game so far. Despite being a defender, she arguably serves as another attacker for the team and has already netted 4 goals for the club this season. The 26-year-old is recognised for her bursts of speed down the wing and aggressive style of play on the front foot, with quick feet, powerful crosses and versatility. Her positivity driving into the final third and taking on defenders at a pace makes her incredibly difficult to mark.

Since making her Matilda’s senior debut at just 15 years old, she has achieved many accolades, most notably two UEFA Women’s Champions League titles while playing for Olympique Lyonnais. Although she has already established herself as one of the top women’s footballers in
her position, it feels as if we are currently starting to see the best of her abilities at Chelsea and in the Women’s Super League.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH
Hannah Blundell was awarded the Barclays Player of the Match award following a brilliant individual performance. It was a trip down memory lane for Blundell who is a former Chelsea player and represented the first team from 2013-2021, before moving to Manchester United and
most recently making the permanent move to Everton in summer 2026. She had a standout performance with 100% tackle success rate and presented confidence in and out of possession.

Scott Phelan sung her praises to the media in the post-match press conference, “to be acknowledged with the player of the match award is rightly so I thought…Han is an amazing person, she’s had an amazing career and continues to do that at our football club and we’re really happy we got a hold of her”.

WHERE HAVE EVERTON BEEN GOOD THIS SEASON
Everton have had a variety of results so far this season with three wins, two draws and four defeats. While there is significant room for improvement in terms of attacking presence, they’ve had an impressive defensive record. They held both Chelsea and Manchester United to a draw in successive weekends and the other losses have been narrow defeats. Blundell and Naomi Layzell have become solid and reliable figures in the backline for the Toffees, and the other defenders have equally done their job when Phelan has called them up.

WHAT WERE CHELSEA MISSING?
According to Head Coach, Sonia Bompastor, Chelsea were “too slow” with the ball, “lacked intensity” and “weren’t compact enough as a block defensively”. Upon being asked how they will regroup and what will be changed for next week, she said, “the quick turnaround is actually a
positive thing, you can quickly move on and focus on what is next…this team has a lot of quality, and we can do better than how we did today”.

From an outside perspective, Chelsea was also notably lacking in clinical edge. The team managed 20 shots with 8 on target yet only converted one of those, which was Sandy Baltimore’s first half header to put the Blues in front. However, Everton deserve credit where its due for an outstanding defensive performance. All 11 players on the field put in a great shift and
it truly felt like a full team effort was what helped them gain a point today.

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WSL

Khadija Shaw hat-trick as West Ham get Hammered in Manchester

Khadija Shaw celebrating her third goal | Photo from Jess Deakin (Shot for Constancy Sport) 

A 5 star performance from Manchester City as a hat-trick from Khadija Shaw helped the side win against struggling West Ham. Additional goals from Aoba Fujino and Iman Beney secured all three points for the reigning champions, running riot over West Ham. 

In the opening 20 minutes, Manchester City started brightly against the Hammers with chances from Lauren Hemp, Khadija Shaw and Kerstin Casparij but all of them failed to find the back of the net. Constance Picaud performed some easy saves in the West Ham net to keep them with a chance with both Katie Zelem and Estelle Cascarino having chances for the travelling side but didn’t challenge Ayaka Yamashita to any extent. 

City continued to dominate but at the 20 minute mark, West Ham flipped the switch with chances from Viviane Asseyi, Leila Wandeler, and Seraina Piubel helped the hammers try and find the opener at the Joie Stadium. Manchester City continued with the attempts on goal with Aoba Fujino having both in the 24th and 34th minute respectively but the first one hit the post from close range and the latter failed to find a player at the end of it. 

38 minutes in, Khadija Shaw got on the score sheet, scoring her 10th goal in 9 games on her 150th appearance; her effort from around the penalty spot was fired into the back of the net. Both sides continued to play possession between the goal and the half but failed to find another goal at either end. 

Half-time: Manchester City 1-0 West Ham 

Manchester City had a couple of chances to open the half from Khadija Shaw and Mary Fowler but both headed just over the bar. Just eight minutes into the half, Khadija Shaw got her double as a cross from Lauren Hemp found the Jamaican International at close range with her header looping over the keeper. 

In the 56th minute, Aoba Fujino hit the crossbar from close range but finally got her goal in the 60th minute. She sprinted with the ball from the halfway line on the right wing, with her goal firing into the bottom left corner from 17 yards out. After the goal from Manchester City, West Ham still looked positive despite being 3-0 with a shot from Seraina Piubel being set wide. Substitute Iman Beney got another for the blues as the shot from over 18 yards out was fired into the bottom left corner in the 68th minute. 

Khadija Shaw rounded off her hat-tick in the 74th minute before coming off shortly after. Grace Clinton found Shaw in space in the middle of the field with her shot from around the penalty spot finding the bottom right side of the net.

Full-time: Manchester City 5-0 West Ham 

What’s next for both sides: 

For Manchester City, they travel to Chelsea and Stamford Bridge for a 1:30pm kick off on Saturday 14th November with West Ham hosting Charlton Athletic on the Sunday at 2pm. 

Manchester City: 

Starting 11: Yamashita, Rose (Prior 80’), Fowler (Clinton 61’), Shaw (Shimizu 75’), Hemp, Casparij © (Beney 61’), Blindkilde Brown (Coffey 61’), Fujino, Knaak, Wamser. 

Unused Substitutes: Cumings, Wienroither, Lohmann, Davies. 

Goals: Khadija Shaw (38’, 53’, 75’), Aoba Fujino (60’), Iman Beney (68’).

Yellow Cards: Rebecca Knaak (9’), Kerstin Casparij (59’)  

West Ham: 

Starting 11: Picaud, Codina, Siren (Kumagai 61’), Belloumou, Zelem ©, Gago, Asseyi (Salmon 71’)  Riesen, Wandeler (Morgan 71’), Cascarino, Piubel. 

Unused Substitutes: Walsh, Yajima, Nystrom, Tennebo, Wareing, Peacock. 

Yellow Cards: Viviane Asseyi (45+3’) 

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WSL

Chelsea prepare for Everton test at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea look to extend their unbeaten start to the WSL season against Everton at Stamford Bridge on Saturday 7thNovember, while Everton hope to provide a shock result. Sonia Bompastor previewed the match in her press conference, after her team had a full week to prepare for the game.

Credits: Chelsea Football Club website

Chelsea went without a midweek match this week, and Chelsea manager Bompastor said that this meant the team could properly rest and prepare for the game in detail. She stated that players were performing at a good level in training, and that the sessions had good intensity and quality. As a result, Bompastor believes that Chelsea are going into the game in a good place.

James unavailable as Cuthbert returns:

Bompastor gave a squad update and confirmed that Lauren James will be unavailable until the end of the year due to picking up a hamstring injury against Charlton. She described James as an “unbelievable” player and acknowledged her importance to the team, but also emphasised her own responsibility as a manager to find solutions when key players like James are unavailable. In more positive news, the Chelsea manager confirmed that Erin Cuthbert is now in a position where “she can start again” and also “play 90 minutes”, which will be a big boost to the team’s mentality and leadership.

Chelsea seek to avoid repeat of last season’s loss:

Last season, Everton were the team to end Chelsea’s unbeaten run, in a 1-0 win for the Toffees at Kingsmeadow. When asked about this fixture, Bompastor said that Chelsea has started the current season in a different position compared to last with the club bringing in different players. With her new squad, she said many players are performing at their best level, and believes that Chelsea are confident in their ability to put together good performances and score at different stages of the game. This will be particularly important against Everton, given their resilient defence that held Manchester United to a 0-0 draw in their last game.

Chelsea build confidence after a strong start to the season:

Chelsea has started the season very strongly in terms of performances and results, with only two points dropped, and Bompastor believes that this has increased the team’s confidence. She added that Chelsea are confident in their ability to perform with or without the ball, as well as dealing with different scenarios during matches.

Chelsea come into this game off the back of a 6-0 win against Charlton, where many different players were involved in scoring. Bompastor noted that in that game, almost every player on the pitch had a shot on goal in that match, showing the attacking threat of this current Chelsea team.

Everton’s strong defence poses a challenge:

Everton, however, could pose a challenge to Chelsea, with Bompastor highlighting their defensive qualities. She described the Toffees as “difficult to break down” and said that Chelsea will have to perform at their very best to get a result. She added that Everton will come into the game on Saturday with confidence due to their positive result against Manchester United, as previously mentioned.

Bompastor hopes to get off to a fast start:

Bompastor said that Chelsea would try to score as early as possible against Everton to get the game off to a good start and potentially start as they did against Charlton. Chelsea managed to score early against Charlton, and saw themselves 4-0 up within the first 20 minutes, and Bompastor said that scoring early is what was significant in that game. She said that starting a game strong is a big “psychological advantage you can take from your opponents”. However, the Chelsea manager also acknowledged that an early goal may not be easy to achieve, and if her team can’t score early, the team must be patient.

Bompastor also stressed the importance of being clinical and ruthless when opportunities arise, and is also preparing her team for different possible scenarios during the game. She believes that Chelsea must maintain and sustain their standards, but the team must also be capable of winning games when things don’t go as planned. She explained that her job as a manager is to ensure the team doesn’t become overly confident when results are positive, but equally wants to prevent the team from becoming too negative when results aren’t going their way.

Key Chelsea players to look out for:

Chelsea has a lot of quality and competition in their squad, including wing-back Ellie Carptenter who has scored 4 goals in her last 4 games. Bompastor said that she has been positioning Carpenter high up the pitch, giving her more freedom to attack in her role. She highlighted Carpenter’s work ethic, and said that she regularly stays after training to work on her finishing inside the box, crossing quality and her first touch. Bompastor said that Carpenter’s additional work is now paying off in great performances on the pitch.

Bompastor was also asked about Giulia Dragoni following her first goal for the club against Charlton, which Bompastor described as a “great goal”, and described her as a top young player, and said that she “believe[s] in her”. The Chelsea manager explained that competition in Chelsea midfield is very high, especially with the return of Erin Cuthbert, which is why Dragoni has not been getting many minutes recently. She added that players need to repeat and sustain their performances to earn starting opportunities, and that her job as a manager is to provide Dragoni with more opportunities. Despite this competition, Bompastor is convinced that Dragoni will get more minutes in the future and prove how good she is.

Cuthbert is another key player, and one who is recently back from injury. Bompastor described her as an important player for Chelsea, and her return is “great news”, especially due to the leadership that she brings to the team.

Melvine Malard has proved to be a crucial player for Chelsea, and Bompastor highlighted Malard’s goalscoring and assists. She added that Malard enjoys playing alongside her teammates and is playing with a lot of confidence, which helps her to maintain her enjoyment of the game. Malard will be a big threat to Everton’s defence on Saturday, and could be the key to breaking down such a resilient defence.

The game kicks off at 12:45 BST on Saturday 7th November and can be watched on Sky Sports.

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WSL

Man City Tame London City Lionesses to Claim All Three Points

Photo: @thoughtsofawing

London City Lionesses Starting Lineup    

Mary Earps (GK), Jana Fernandez, Maria Perez, Lucia Corrales, Danielle Van de Donk,

Alexia Putellas (C), Daniela Arques, Kadidiatou Diani, Izzy Goodwin, Mapi Leon,

Grace Geyoro  Carlotta Wamser

London City Lionesses Used Subs

Delphine Cascarino, Nicole Anyomi, Janni Thomsen, Poppy Pattinson, Freya Godfrey

Manchester City Starting Lineup

Ayaka Yamashita (GK), Jade Rose, Alex Greenwood (C), Grace Clinton, Bunny Shaw, Lauren Hemp, Laura Blindkilde Brown, Aoba Fujino, Yui Hasagawa, Rebecca Knaak, Carlotta Wamser

Manchester City Used Subs

Sam Coffey, Mary Fowler, Kerstin Casparij

From Kick off, London City Lionesses dominated posession. With early opportunities from Lucia Corrales, Alexia Putellas and Grace Geyoro, key players from Cities back line were pushed to prevent an early goal.

The first clear chance for City comes from Grace Clinton putting a cross into the London City box, but with nobody on the end of it, the ball goes out of play.

London City fire back with more chances seeing Jana fernandez drive the ball down the right beating her defended, creating a one two with Putellas, before shooting just wide of the goal. We also saw Kadidiatou Diani cross the ball over the box to Alexia Putellas, she was able to get a low head to it, where Geyoro picked it up and sent it over the bar.

Manchester City are given a free kick. With Alex greewood taking, it is fired directly into the box but headed away by Alexia Putellas. Both Danielle Van de Donk and Laura Blindkilde Brown both go for the follow up but Blindkilde Brown went down in the process, stopping play.

A long ball is sent through to Issy Goodwin from the London City defence, she tries to collect it with a high foot while her defender Rebecca Knaak tries with a low head. They end up collitiding with Rebecca Knaak recieving treatment and a yellow card given to Issy Goodwin

Alex greenwood takes a free kick, pinging it toward Rebecca Knaak who gets a head to it. Mary Earps is able to get a hand to it, but it bounces off the post toward goal. She pulls off the second save, with the loose ball landing to Maria Perez to clear from the box.

With 3 minutes of injury time announced, London City pushed for a goal. Issy Goodwin drove the ball down the left crossing it for Jana Fernandez at the back post, she hit it on the volly but the chance goes wide.

But it wasnt enough for either side, as they went into halftime at 0-0.

Early in the second half, Lauren Hemp and Jana Fernandez battled it out on the right wing, seeing the referee immediately issued Hemp a yellow card for the challenge.

Lauren Hemp receives the ball in midfield laying it off for bunny shaw. She is able to outrun Jana Fernandez heading toward the box. Mary Earps comes out of goal and Shaw goes round the goalkeeper sending it top bins. Just after the break its London City Lionesses 0 – 1 Manchester City.

After the goal, London City immediately pushed heavily for an equaliser. During that time, Danielle Van de Donk, was pushing toward goal and Rebecca Knaak committed a mistimed foul in the transition, seeing the defender awarded a yellow card.

The first subsitutions of the game are made with Sam Coffey and Mary Fowler coming on for Grace clinton and Laura Blindkilde Brown, Delphine Cascarino and Nicole Anyomi coming on for Kadidiatou Diani and Issy Goodwin. Soon after, Kerstin Casparij came on for Carlotta Wamser.

Nicole Anyomi drives into the box with Jade Rose and Rebecca Knaak on either side of her, with Rose tackling the ball from her, sending Anyomi down and the ball out for a corner. Mapi Leon takes it, sending it toward the middle of the box, Jana Fernandez gets a head on it, whipping it into the top corner. Equalising the score its London City 1 – 1 Manchester City.

Kerstin Casparij tries to send the ball into the box but is blocked by Mapi Leon. the ball lands perfectly for fowler to send the ball in, with Lauren hemp running in she is able to hit it on the volly into the bottom left corner. From one end to the other its London City 1 – 2 Manchester City.

London City try to change the gaming bringing on fresh legs, seeing Mapi Leon coming off for Janni Thompsen, Lucia Corrrales coming off Poppy Pattinson and Danielle Van de Donk coming off for Freya Godfrey.

London City have more chances with Delphine Cascarino’s shot being collected by Manchester City goalkeeper Yamashita and a Freya Godfrey cross defended by Knaak.

4 minutes of injury time are added at the end of the 90 minutes. London City push for an equaliser but the game was already decided. London City Lionesses 1 – 2 Manchester City.

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Six-Goal Blues Thrash Charlton as Chelsea go Top of the WSL Once More

Image via @melvine_malard on instagram

Chelsea paid their first visit to The Valley this afternoon as the squad thrashed Charlton Athletic 6-0 in a statement London derby win.

Charlton currently sit last in the league, having been yet to pick up a point after their seemingly unexpected promotion last season and with the visitors at the opposite end of the table, in first place, it was expected to be a tough brawl for the Addicks.

The hosts have made three changes from their last WSL fixture, with Anna Koivunen, Grace Johnston and Lucia Lobato making the move into the starting line up. Meanwhile, Chelsea have made six changes, with Veerle Buurman, Lauren James, Sandy Baltimore, and Keira Walsh returning to the starting line up and Manaka Matsukubo and NAthalie Bjorn earning their first league starts this season.

Starting XI’s:

Charlton Athletic XI: Koivunen (GK), Mason, Johnston, Davidson, Hutton, Flannery, Korhonen, Skeels ©, van Egmond, Lobato, Neville

Subs: Kenney (46’), Fitzgerald (58’), Waldie (58’), Lockwood (73’), Robe (79’)

Chelsea XI: Hampton, Carpenter, Buurman, Nusken, Mallard, James, Baltimore, Bjorn ©, McCabe, Walsh, Matsukubo

Subs: Cuthbert (35’), Beever-Jones (46’), Dragoni (61’), Hamano (62’), Thompson (62’)

Chelsea took kick off in South London through Lauren James and the blue’s were off to a positive start, dominating in possession and providing an attack in the opening minute.

The first corner of the game came in the third minute, with Katie McCabe and Lauren James linking up to take it short, eventually finding the head of Nathalie Bjorn and the Swedish skipper knocking it home.

GOAL: 3’ Nathalie Bjorn

Sjoeke Nusken came close to doubling Chelsea’s lead not long later, her effort from the edge of the box, failing to find the net.

Melvine Malard found Chelsea’s second of the afternoon in the tenth minute, with Anna Koivunen struggling to get a hold of the ball, sliding beneath her and into the net.

GOAL: 10’ Melvine Malard

Just three minutes later, Lauren James forced Koivunen into a stunning save, however the ball failed nto make it any further than the feet of Ellie Carpenter, who slotted home her fourth goal of the season.

Goal: 13’ Ellie Carpenter

Manaka Matsukubo had her turn in the action after the restart, breaking free from the Charlton defence, however her effort was seen just wide of the goal mouth.

Melvine MAlard found Chelsea’s fourth of the game in the 19th minute, after efforts from herself, Lauren James  and Ellie Carpenter failed to finish, her tap in found the back of the net.

Goal: 19’ Melvine Malard

Melvine Malard thought she had completed her hattrick just three minutes later, however her goal was ruled out for offside.

A pause in play for the treatment of Sjoeke Nusken meant that the squad were momentarily down to ten and Charlton found their first promising attack of the game – this however came to nothung, with Chelsea’s defence being first to it.

A second pause in play saw Lauren James receive treatment for what looked to be a hamstring injury and was subsequently forced off the field with Erin Cuthbert replacing her.

Jodie Hutton caused issues for the Chelsea back line soon after, hanging tight to Veerle Buurman in the box, the hosts once again taking advantage of the visitors’ missing man.

Sjoeke Nusken broke free from Lucia Lobato on the left flank in the 37th minute, crossing the ball into the box, however failing to meet a player in white and blue.

The Blues earned a free kick within the attacking third in the 40th minute and with a miscommunication from the visitors, Leah Davidson was able to break free on the right hand side and provide another crucial Charlton attack.

Cassandra Korhonen linked up with Jodie Hutton in front of the Chelsea goal in a bid to decrease the deficit. However, her shot soared too high of the goal.

Another corner for the visitors on the crunch of half time saw Erin Cuthbert and Katie McCabe team up to break through the addick defence, the resulting ball however, only made it as far as the first man.

Half Time: Charlton 0-4 Chelsea

Half time substitutions saw Aggie Beever-Jones replace Melvine Malard oin the Chelsea attack whilst Gillian Kenney replaced Emily van Egmond.

With the second half under way, Anna Koivunen was forced straight back into action, saving a low shot from the visitors.

The second half continued much the same, Ellie Carpenters’ cross to Sandy Baltimore being knocked out by Ashleigh Neville. The subsequent corner was seen well wide of the goal with Keira Walsh’s shot heading into the Jimmy Seed Stand.

Aggie Beever-Jones had a shot from range in the 52nd minute, however was unablemto find the target once more.

However, just minutes later, the English striker finally found the back of the net, scoring her first goal since March 2026.

GOAL: 57’ Beever-Jones

Substitutions from Charlton saw Lizzie Waldie and Lucy Fitzgerald enter the field of play, replacing Ellie Mason and Cassandra Korhonen

Chelsea made their final substitutions of the game with Giulia  Dragoni, Maika Hamano and ALyssa Thompson replacing Keira Walsh, Manaka Matsukubo and Nathalie Bjorn.

Sandy Baltimore’s shot from range in the 63rd minute saw a close call and a lack of reaction from Anna Koivunen with the ball hitting the post. Maika Hamano’s follow up shot was much the same, hitting the cross bar and headingout for a goal kick.

Giulia Dragoni got in on the scoring just moments later, linking up with Alyssa Thompson in an emotional shot from the back of the box to beat the keeper.

GOAL: 66’ Dragoni

Charlton made yet another substitution in the 73rd minute with Jodie Hutton making way for Katie Lockwood.

Chelses came close to a seventh after the restart, with Alyssa Thompson’s diving shot reboudning to the feet of Maika Hamano who was unable to find the target.

Maika Hamano and Alyssa Thompson teamed up once again on the counter attack from a Charlton corner, and with the duo going against the run of play and 2v1 with Koivunen, ALyssa Thompsons shot looked bound to find the net, however made its way just wide of the goal.

With ten minutes on the clock, the hosts made their final substitution of the game with Leighanne Robe replacing Grace Johnston.

The following ten minutes saw chance after chance from the visitors however none of them managed to find the back and extend Chelsea’s lead once more.

With three minutes added time announced, the blues attempted to get a final goal on the visitors, with Sjoeke Nusken earning Chelsea another corner, Katie McCabe’s ball however failed to find a body in Blue and White.

With the final attempt of the game, Katie McCabe’s free kick found the head of Aggie Beever-Jones, however she was unable to knock the ball into the net.

FULL TIME: Charlton Athletic 0-6 Chelsea

A worrying display from the hosts saw Chelsea 4-0 up at half time, providing no mercy to the WSL debutants. The second half was much more of an even affair with the visitors struggling to find the target in the opening stages despite their comfortable lead. However this all changed after Aggie Beever-Jones found the back of the net, with the Blues scoring a further two goals inside the second half.