Chelsea carried their strong Women’s Super League (WSL) form to Kingsmeadow for their fixture against Everton, with Sonia Bompastor’s side top of the table and Everton still fighting to climb. Chelsea had won all five of their matches across all competitions before the game, including a 6-0 win over Charlton Athletic in their last WSL outing. Everton, handled by Scott Phelan, came into the match after a 0-0 draw with Manchester United Women, a result that stopped back-to-back league defeats. The Toffees also won two WSL Cup ties inside that same five-game run. Chelsea’s defensive record remained strong: they had conceded only two goals in their last five matches, a stat that put pressure on Everton’s attack.
Chelsea worked a short corner and whipped the ball towards the back post, where Lucy Bronze headed it back across goal. Courtney Brosnan was taken out of the play, and Sandy Baltimore, not the biggest player on the pitch, found room to head home. Former Wales striker Helen Ward, speaking on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, described it as a well-worked set-piece straight from the training ground.
The match also brought a painful moment for Lucy Bronze on her 150th WSL appearance. Yuka Momiki’s delivery came in for Everton, but it could not find a teammate and took an unfortunate deflection off Bronze, wrongfooting Hannah Hampton and sending the ball into her own net. Helen Ward said the own goal came out of absolutely nowhere and left her speechless.
