Chelsea ease past Twente to maintain 100% record under Bompastor

Chelsea made it two wins from two in the UEFA Women’s Champions League Group Stage, easing to a comfortable 3-1 win away at FC Twente.

A much-changed Chelsea came racing out of the blocks and took a two-goal lead early in the game, with Aggie Beever-Jones and Maika Hamano on the scoresheet.

Manager Sonia Bompastor was able to utilise her bench and keep her squad fresh, and the game was made safe thanks to two of the substitutes, as Maya Ramirez won a penalty and Guro Reiten slotted it home.

The lively Nikee van Dijk ensured Twente’s home fans had something to cheer with a well-taken consolation goal in the second half, but six points from two games is a perfect start for Chelsea in Group B.

Coach Bompastor will be delighted to have had such a good opportunity to test out her squad, using this fixture as a way to blood some of the new players against opponents good enough to offer a test without enough quality to make that rotation seem like a bad idea.

That level of depth meant that even an injury to Lauren James in the warm up did not cause a notable drop off in quality, with the outstanding Johanna Rytting Kaneryd replacing her in the XI.

On this evidence of the match, Chelsea’s strength in depth is something really quite exciting following the summer transfer activity. Sandy Baltimore and Hamano have added more technical quality to the attacking options at the club, and young Maelys Mpome showed enough to suggest there are some useful back-ups available in defence too if required.

Chelsea’s Swedish winger was not even supposed to be in the starting line-up, but you would never have guessed by the way she hit the ground running in the game, ripping Twente open time and again, dominating that right side of the field for Chelsea.

Her directness and quality on the ball were a big part of how the visitors raced into their early lead, and she fully deserved her rest when withdrawn midway through the second half.

Twente: Clark 4, Tuin 6, Carleer 6, Knol 7, Vliek 7, Te Brake 6, Van Ginkel 6, Van Dooren 7, Peddemors 6, Van Dijk 8, Andradottir 6. Subs: Prost 6, Ivens 6, Hulst 6, Ravensbergen 7

Chelsea: Musovic 6, Lawrence 7, Bjorn 6, Buchanan 7, Perisset 6, Jean-Francois 6, Kaptein 6, Baltimore 7, Hamano 7, Kaneryd 8, Beever Jones 8. Subs: Reiten 8, Mpome 7, Ramirez 7, Cuthbert 7, Bartel 7

8’ – GOAL! TWENTE 0-1 CHELSEA (BEEVER-JONES)

Chelsea work the ball to Aggie Beever-Jones outside the box, and she needs no encouragement to have a crack. Her effort takes a deflection that sends it looping over the keeper and into the back of the net to give Chelsea an extremely early lead. 1-0!

19’ – GOAL! TWENTE 0-2 CHELSEA (HAMANO)

Wow! Chelsea go two up and it’s a long-range special from Hamano. The midfielder plays a big part in winning the ball back in Twente’s half, and she sees the keeper off her line, opts to go for goal, and finds the back of the net. 2-0!

Ramirez is straight into the action and his hacked down as she cuts back inside the box. It’s a penalty for Chelsea and a chance to make this game safe.

64’ – GOAL! TWENTE 0-3 CHELSEA (REITEN)

Reiten, the captain for Chelsea in this second half, steps up and sends the keeper the wrong way. 3-0 and game over.

69’ – GOAL! TWENTE 1-3 CHELSEA (VAN DIJK)

Huge celebrations for the Twente fans as Van Dijk bursts away on her own on the break, holds off the covering defender and slots a shot into the bottom corner via a half-save from Musovic. That’s a class finish from a quality-looking player. 3-1.

Guro Reiten’s second-half penalty sees her extend her lead as the club’s top-scorer this season.And Reiten’s spot-kick was her 50th for the club.

Chelsea have scored inside the first seven minutes in each of their last three fixtures.

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