Chelsea ended their Champions League group stage on a high with a comfortable 4-0 victory away at Paris FC.
The hosts needed a win to have any chance of advancing, and they certainly had their chances against a Chelsea side who clearly took their foot off the gas after cementing their place as group leaders last week.
Fran Kirby and Mia Fishel both netted in the first half, before Guro Reiten and Maren Mjelde struck to secure a emphatic victory.
How the game unfolded
Chelsea’s first chance of the game fell to Kirby ten minutes in. The Blues had been a little scrappy in the early stages but flexed their quality in front of goal as Jelena Cankovic’s cross landed right on the head of Kirby, who steered home to put Chelsea ahead.
Aggie Beever-Jones was close to adding a second as Kirby sent a cut-back in her direction, but Paris defender Julie Soyer got a crucial touch on the ball to impact the shot, with Kirby then caught offside on the rebound.
Gaetane Thiney and Mathilde Bourdieu both had half-chances as Paris pushed for an equaliser, with the hosts visibly growing into the game as the clock ticked on.
However, Fishel dealt Paris a huge blow in the 37th minute as she took her turn to head home a Cankovic cross, sending her effort through goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie.
It was hardly a vintage Chelsea performance, but with Paris proving wasteful in the final third – the hosts had 11 shots in the first half – Hayes’ Blues strolled into half-time with a comfortable lead.
Paris kept the tempo up after the break and Julie Dufour should have done far better with a cut-back just minutes after the break. Seemingly needing just a simple touch to steer the ball home, the prolific forward sent the ball blazing over the bar instead.
But the hosts’ enthusiasm soon began to fade and substitute Reiten took advantage of some awful defending to slot into an empty net with 17 minutes to go.
Mjelde rose highest from a corner to add a fourth soon after, with Paris well and truly beaten.
GK: Zecira Musovic – 7/10 – Perhaps busier that she would have expected to be. Needed to be alert to repel a handful of Paris efforts.
RB: Ashley Lawrence – 6/10 – A little sloppy at the back as Paris threw everything at her, but didn’t exactly get much wrong.
CB: Kadeisha Buchanan – 7/10 – Underwhelmed in the first half but really found her feet after the break.
CB: Maren Mjelde – 6/10 – Given the run-around a bit by Paris’ agile forwards in the first half but, like Buchanan, settled down and even added her name to the scoresheet late on.
LB: Eve Perisset – 6/10 – Did her best to get forwards to try and link up with Beever-Jones.
DM: Sjoeke Nusken – 5/10 – A little slow in the press. Felt as though Paris had four of five extra players in midfield.
DM: Sophie Ingle – 5/10 – Noticeably below par. Sloppy when passing and lacked energy when tracking back to defend.
RM: Fran Kirby – 7/10 – Buzzed around with energy and took her goal very well. Helped ease the pressure on her side.
AM: Jelena Cankovic – 8/10 – Two assists in the first half made the difference for Chelsea, who needed that extra bit of quality to get over the line here.
LM: Aggie Beever-Jones – 6/10 – Some excellent touches and runs to try and make things happen, but didn’t always get the end product.
ST: Mia Fishel – 7/10 – Fairly quiet when she wasn’t celebrating a goal. Ruthless performance.
Substitutes
SUB: Johanna Rytting Kaneryd (64′ for Kirby) – 6/10
SUB: Guro Reiten (64′ for Cankovic) – 7/10
SUB: Niamh Charles (82′ for Perisset) – N/A
Subs not used: Hannah Hampton (GK), Jess Carter, Erin Cuthbert, Lauren James
Manager
Emma Hayes – 6/10 – This wasn’t particularly good from Chelsea, but Hayes will be fine with that. She rested some big names, watched her side score four and keep a clean sheet. Job done.
Player of the match – Jelena Cankovic (Chelsea)
