Return of ‘mother hen’ Mjelde after lay-off caps Chelsea’s show of power
Chelsea showed their vast superiority over Swiss champions Servette to move top of Group A in the Women’s Champions League and were further boosted by the return of their “mother hen” Maren Mjelde in the second half after eight months out with a knee injury.
Ruthless strike duo Sam Kerr and Fran Kirby both scored twice for last season’s European finalists, who moved two points clear at the top of the group as their rivals Wolfsburg and Juventus drew 2-2 in Turin..
The hosts, who train part-time after work and are competing in Europe for the first time, were backed by a 12,782-strong crowd – having given tickets to around 5,000 children – but on the pitch they could not live with Chelsea’s attacking movement, the lethal combination of Kerr and Kirby or the intensity with which the visitors raced to their emphatic 6-0 half-time lead.
But, arguably, a more significant boost for Chelsea than the result was to welcome back defender Mjelde to first-team action for the first time since the League Cup final in March.
“She’s a Rolls-royce of a footballer. Her ability to read things, you can’t teach,” Emma Hayes, the Chelsea manager, said of Mjelde, 32. “We’re delighted she’s back. She’s a quiet leader. She’s been the mother hen of this group for a lot of years.
“On the pitch, she’s got so much quality. She’s one of the most underrated players in the world. She is a special person in our environment, and after the work she and the medical team and my technical team have done, it was emotional for her.”
Kerr, named player of the match, said of Mjelde: “Tonight was special. When she went down in the Conti Cup [final] it was devastating, it felt like we’d lost that game. We’re all pleased for her, it’s been a long jour
ney.” However, there was no first Chelsea appearance for summer signing Lauren James, whose longawaited debut since her move from Manchester United did not quite arrive, despite the 20-year-old being on the bench. Hayes added: “I want Lauren to be given the time to get up to the speed of the team, but I will never do anything at the expense of what’s best for the team. She’s not far away, and she has to keep earning it on the training pitch.”
Those who were on the pitch filled their boots. Germany midfielder Melanie Leupolz got things started with a thumping left-footed finish from the right side of the area, after cutting inside when collecting Millie Bright’s upfield ball.
Then Chelsea scored three times in four blistering minutes, as Kirby raced on to Kerr’s nonchalant flick and coolly beat the keeper, before Kerr had acres of space inside the penalty area to make it 3-0 when Leupolz brought down Guro Reiten’s pinpoint cross from the left. The Australia striker got the fourth when she poked home after collecting Kirby’s clipped through ball.
Canada’s Jessie Fleming unselfishly squared the ball for Kirby to
tap in the fifth on 26 minutes, before Fleming herself scored, finding the net from a very tight angle on the right after another neat team move.
Despite the scoreline, Hayes said: “It wasn’t easy. They worked their socks off in the first half. The details on the passes, the movement, the finishes, credit to the players. We were outstanding. In terms of individual decision-making, first touch, the pace with which [we] did that, that’s got nothing to do with the opponent, that’s all about yourself.”
Perhaps the main surprise after the break was that Chelsea scored only once more, and in truth it came with a hint of offside in the build-up against Kerr, who was not flagged by the officials, but her square ball was clinically put home by Reiten.
Kirby and Drew Spence also hit the crossbar in an impressive night’s display from the English league champions, backing up last month’s pivotal away win against Juventus.