Just nine days after a 7-0 drubbing, Chelsea and Servette met on matchday four of group stage action. With confidence high from that win and a hectic schedule on the horizon, it came as no surprise when Emma Hayes rested some of her best players. Melanie Leupolz, Guro Reiten, and Jessie Fleming were just some of the names on the bench to start the game as Maren Mjelde made her first start since returning from a serious knee injury. Chelsea found it much more difficult to get the win this time around as they were faced with a resilient Servette side but ultimately came away with a 1-0 win.
Sam Kerr Fires Chelsea Past Resilient Servette
Lessons Learned
Servette clearly learned from the first encounter between these two teams. Most notably, the defensive line was wider and deeper to limit the amount of space Chelsea were able to work in. Servette were just as energetic as the first game, but better organisation in defence made them a problem for Chelsea, who were failing to make the most of their chances throughout the game.
Just as Chelsea were getting ready to press the panic button, Sam Kerr scored a crucial goal, the kind of goal she will be netting for the blues until 2024 following her recent contract extension. Hayes brought on the reinforcements to lock things down and ensure her side saw out the rest of the game with the win.
With this win, Chelsea move to 10 points in group A. Following Juventus’ 2-0 win over Wolfsburg, the Blues have all but secured a spot in the next round as third-placed Wolfsburg are now five points behind the group leaders. There will still be a tussle for top spot with second-placed Juventus having seven points so far, with matches against Chelsea and Servette awaiting them in their final group games. Servette, for all their efforts, are still on zero points in the group.
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