Chelsea continued their march towards the Women’s Super League (WSL) title with a routine 3-1 win over Leicester City. With an extremely hectic schedule on four trophy fronts this March, Sonia Bompastor went for heavy rotation, leading to a somewhat disjointed performance, particularly in the first half. Yet her side still possessed enough quality to dispatch the Foxes, with Catarina Macario, Aggie Beever-Jones and Erin Cuthbert making the crucial difference on the scoreline.
The Lineups
CHE: Hampton, Charles, Björn, Bright, Bronze, Hamano, Jean-François, Rytting Kaneryd, Macário, Beever-Jones, Ramirez
LEI: Leitzig, Ale, Thibaud, Howard, Nevin, Momiki, Mace, goodwin, Cayman, O’Brien, Cain
The Action
Chelsea opened the scoring in the 8th minute as Leicester City conceded a free kick on the edge of the box when Ruby Mace dragged Catarina Macario to the ground. The American stepped up, placed the ball, and took the shot. It would have been a routine save for Lietzig, only for the ball to take a wicked deflection off the wall and beyond the dive of the keeper.
Leicester City aimed for a quick response with an effort of their own from range, but Janice Cayman’s shot was straight down the throat of Hannah Hampton. Straight up the other end, Mayra Ramírez danced into the Leicester City penalty area, but her attempt to curl the ball inside the far post missed by several metres.
Chelsea were dominating the ball, but their much-rotated XI was struggling to convert that into chances. Johanna Rytting Kaneryd whipped a dangerous cross in that Thibaud was just able to clear over her own crossbar with Ramirez threatening just behind her. Aggie Beever-Jones tried her luck from the D, but the Foxes defence was quick to crowd her out and deflect the shot wide.
Everything pointed towards a slow meander to a 1-0 half-time advantage, until the game took a turn for the worst on 35 minutes as Ruby Mace crumpled to the floor in agony. The game came to halt as the club doctors and medical team entered the pitch to assist. After five anxious minutes, Mace was stretchered off the pitch in tears with a suspected knee injury, which if proved to be the case, will almost certainly be terminal for her Euro 2025 chances with the Lionesses in the Summer.
Both sides came close to adding to the scoreline in the few minutes that remained. Macario was gifted another free kick opportunity, but this time her effort brushed the side-netting. Hannah Cain then had a delivery of her own in added time, Cayman swivelled and shot through the 6-yard box, but no player could nudge it home.
The second half started with Chelsea on the front foot, as Rytting Kaneryd caught out Lietzig with her pace outside the penalty area before being taken too wide to execute the shot. Maika Hamano blazed over and Niamh Charles saw her cross easily claimed by the Leicester City keeper as the Blues piled on the pressure.
The Foxes soon cracked, and the result was a thing of beauty. Hamano drove a pass straight to Ramírez in the penalty area, whose clever backheel gave Beever-Jones a clear run into the penalty area. 1v1 with Leitzing she made no mistake, calmly slotting the ball home.
It looked like Chelsea were cruising to three points, only for Leicester City to throw a spanner in the works. The Blues lost the ball in their defensive third far too easily, and Yüka Momiki executed a delicate chip over Hannah Hampton to perfection to halve the deficit.
Chelsea were stung, and responded in anger. The malaise of the first half had been replaced by a furious intensity. Wieke Kaptein’s fierce effort stung the palms of Leitzig, and Ramírez was unable to nod in the rebound. Hamano had two great efforts from outside the 18-yard box that just missed the target. And whilst it remained at just 2-1, Leicester City carried a strong threat on the counter. Cayman was given the chance to burst clear, but from the angle she could only shoot straight at Hampton.
Chelsea needed to seal the game, and with 20 minutes to play Sonia Bompastor did just that by bringing Erin Cuthbert on from the bench. She came close to giving Chelsea that much needed breathing room with a rising drive that magnificently tipped onto the crossbar by Leitzig.
But Cuthbert would not be denied a second time, as moments later she ended the contest with a wonderful, low curling effort that snaked its way into bottom corner. There was still time for the Scottish midfielder to nearly add further gloss to the scoreline, but her long range effort landed on the roof of the net. It mattered not. 3-1, three more points as Chelsea, whilst not convincing on the pitch, remain firmly on course for another WSL title.
The Halfway Line Player of the Match – Johanna Rytting Kaneryd
On a night where Chelsea struggled for fluency, Rytting Kaneryd was the positive constant, with her pace in the channels causing plenty of problems for the Leicester City defence. It has been a strong season for Rytting Kaneryd, and it is performances like tonight that will go a long way towards ensuring Chelsea get this title challenge over the line.
