Bittersweet triumph
Chelsea pledge support to Mjelde after horror injury in cup final
Ruthless Chelsea dismantled Bristol City to retain the League Cup, but manager Emma Hayes said it was a “bittersweet” victory as a late knee injury to defender Maren Mjelde dampened their celebrations.
Mjelde was being treated in hospital by the time her team-mates held the trophy aloft, after screaming in agony as she went down before receiving oxygen as she was carried off on a stretcher following a lengthy stoppage.
That came after Australia striker Sam Kerr had scored a hat-trick and Fran Kirby starred with two goals and four unselfish assists, in a game the Women’s Super League leaders could have won by an even bigger margin.
Victory earned Chelsea the first of a potential quadruple of major honours this season.
“You can see from all of our faces, we’re absolutely gutted,” Hayes said. “She [Mjelde] is the mother hen, a hugely popular member of our team, admired by all. Everybody is really devastated for her that she couldn’t join the celebrations.
“It’s a bittersweet moment to be honest, simply because we were missing a big piece of us come the final whistle. But I know my club and whatever the situation is we will definitely take care of her.”
Hayes’s team had produced a movement masterclass as they claimed their eighth major trophy, all of which have come in Hayes’s tenure.
In this cup’s 10th season, Bristol City were only the seventh different finalists and there remain only three sides who have ever lifted the trophy: Chelsea, five-time winners Arsenal and three-time champions Manchester City.
The 2019-20 final last season was a gripping, edge-of-your-seat contest which Chelsea won 2-1 against Arsenal in the final minute, but this year’s showpiece was, in contrast, all but over inside half an hour, and realistically settled inside 10 minutes.
Within 90 seconds, Kirby selflessly squared the ball across the six-yard box for an untracked Kerr to score at the far post.
Kerr doubled her own tally in the 10th minute and her celebration was befitting of her team’s imperious form as she spun away with an acrobatic cartwheel that drew whoops of appreciation from her team-mates.
Kirby capitalised on goalkeeper Sophie Baggaley’s loose clearance with a thumping finish to make it 3-0, before the England forward was released down the left and trickled home her second to put Chelsea 4-0 up at half-time.
Kirby generously laid the ball off for Kerr to complete her hat-trick after the break, before cutting another neat pass back for Norway winger Guro Reiten to net the sixth.
“What I was so impressed with was the intensity and intention we showed right from the start,” Hayes added. “We were relentless for 60 minutes. We really didn’t take our foot off the pedal, we were outstanding.”
Chelsea were so in control they were able to rest the world’s most expensive signing, Pernille Harder, throughout.
Matt Beard, who has been in interim charge of Bristol City since January as he provides maternity cover for manager Tanya Oxtoby, said his young squad, who have just climbed out of the WSL relegation zone, would “not be scarred” by the experience.
“We showed them a little bit too much respect early. The occasion probably got the better of us,” Beard admitted. “Chelsea are an unbelievably talented team, there’s a big gap there.
“Nobody will be scarred by this, it will be a learning experience they can draw upon. They deserve an awful amount of credit for getting here. We’ll use this as motivation.”