Crystal Palace 0-7 Chelsea: Blues run riot to keep Bompastor perfect

Sonia Bompastor maintained her perfect start to life as Chelsea head coach as her side turned on the style in the second half to beat Crystal Palace 7-0 on Friday.

After Lauren James saw a goal ruled out, the Blues found their breakthrough in the 38th minute as Agnes Beever-Jones turned home Johanna Rytting Kaneryd’s delivery.

Lucy Bronze handed the visitors the perfect start to the second half, guiding a strike into the far corner for her first Chelsea goal since her move from Barcelona.

The result was put beyond doubt just before the hour-mark as James finally got her name on the scoresheet, opening her account for the season from close range.

But the Blues were not done there. Guro Reiten struck beyond Shae Yanez for Chelsea’s fourth, with Catarina Macario’s corner then finished by Nathalie Bjorn.

Reiten notched her second in the 90th minute, with Macario adding gloss to an impressive showing from the defending champions as she capitalised on Yanez’s parry to compound the newly-promoted Eagles to a second defeat of the season.

Simply sensational.#CFCW pic.twitter.com/DzU0UUkEZR

— Chelsea FC Women (@ChelseaFCW) September 27, 2024

Data Debrief: Ruthless Blues clip Eagles’ wings

After a battling display against Aston Villa on the opening day, Bompastor’s side showcased the attacking ruthlessness that was missing a week ago.

James was a particular standout for the Blues, registering a team-high expected goals (xG) tally of 0.95 to Chelsea’s 2.47 total from her four shots during the encounter.

Chelsea ended the contest with 24 shots, 11 of which were on target, completing 56 touches inside the opposition’s box compared to Palace’s 12.

But for all of their attacking brilliance, Chelsea have now kept a clean sheet in each of their last five games in the Women’s Super League. Their last longer run of games without conceding a goal in the competition was a run of six matches between February and April in 2021.