Chelsea 4-2 Brighton and Hove Albion
by Aimee-Lou Caldecourt at Kingsmeadow for Impetus 9/12/24.
Above: Millie Bright (left) and Aggie Beever-Jones (right) celebrate Sjoke Nusken’s (middle) goal. Photo: ChelseaFCW on X.
Chelsea ran out winners in a fascinating tactical battle at Kingsmeadow against Brighton and Hove Albion on Sunday afternoon.
It was the visitors who were technically the better team in the opening 10 minutes. The Seagulls came out to prove a point. They pressed with high intensity and drove up the pitch to win early corners.
Johanna Rytting Kaneryd showed she had the pace on the right side to beat Jorelyn Caribali to the ball and cross in a beautiful pass, which was shot safely into the hands of Sophie Baggaley.
Chelsea’s attempt at a short corner fell to the feet of Lucy Bronze just outside the penalty area, and her powerful shot was deflected by the Brighton defence and sent clear over the crossbar.
The Blues grew into the game and became more composed. They controlled the possession in Brighton’s half, pushing the Seagulls to defend in their own box.
Brighton were able to drive through the Chelsea midfield a fair amount thanks to Kiko Seike but were unable to challenge Hannah Hampton in the opening 25 minutes.
Rachel McLaughan’s technical ability shone in the first half. The way she kept calm to win battles against the Chelsea defenders was crucial to the Seagulls staying competitive in this game.
A lapse in concentration for Brighton allowed Chelsea to capitalise on the breakdown of the backline. A heavy touch from the former Chelsea player Jelena Čanković led to an attempted goal-line clearance from Guro Bergsvand, but the ball had already crossed the line, and Sjoeke Nüsken got Chelsea going in the game.
The Chelsea press in the first half was difficult to break down. Baggaley attempted to play out from the back, but it was intercepted by Aggie Beever-Jones, who doubled the home side’s lead five minutes before halftime.
Čanković found a pocket of space in the Chelsea defence after she received the ball from Nikita Parris and halved the deficit in added time.
Brighton changed their shape with the introduction of Michelle Agyemang, but ultimately it would have no impact on the outcome of the game.
Chelsea hunted to regain a two-goal advantage, and got their reward when an in-swinging ball from substitute Macario met Bronze in the box who was denied by Baggaley, only for the loose ball to meet the feet of Rytting Kaneryd who tapped it home.
Rytting Kaneryd is a force in the WSL this season but is still arguably underrated. Her positioning out on the wing is always perfect, and she has the pace to match making her an all-round outstanding player. The Swede’s ability in the box is just as good as outside the box and she has already equalled her goal tally for last season.
It was a poor clearance from Hampton in goal which allowed three Brighton players to be left unmarked in the box. The Lionesses goalkeeper’s pass ricocheted off Agyemang, into the feet of Seike who poked it in to give the Sussex side an extra push forward in the closing 15 minutes. A rare mistake from Chelsea.
In added time, Nüsken headed home from a corner. She was left unmarked as she drifted towards the near post.
It is understandable why Sonia Bompastor has broken records with this team. She is now nine games unbeaten in the WSL and her charges have only conceded five times in the league. This Chelsea team under her is incredibly difficult to break down. Bompastor, joking around, said, “Someone told me you are really dominating the league, and it was not good for the league. Today I feel we showed we have a competitive league… Brighton is a good team.”
This does not mean that Dario Vidosic’s side were not on the same level it was a hard-fought battle against the champions. There will be a sense of pride in these Brighton players. Vidosic said he was: “Really, really proud after a short period [of training].”
Nüsken’s brace and incredible contributions from Rytting Kaneryd and Beever-Jones highlighted the real attacking threat of Chelsea as a whole. Brighton showed high levels of resilience throughout and never gave up.
Teams: CHELSEA (4-2-3-1): Hampton, Bright, Nüsken, Cuthbert, Reiten, Lawrence, Bjorn, Kaptein, Rytting Kaneryd, Bronze, Beever-Jones. Substitutes: Musovic (GK), Ramirez, Macario, Perisset, Charles, Hamano, Mpome, Jean-Francois, Bernabe.
Scorers: Nüsken 35′, Beever-Jones 40′, Rytting Kaneryd 51′, Bright 90+1′.
BRIGHTON AND HOVE ALBION (4-3-1-2): Baggaley, Pattinson, Bergsvand, Losada, Bremer, Parris, Čanković, Seike, Carabali, Olislagers, McLauchlan. Substitutes: Loeck (GK), Rayner, Vilamala, Milner, Heron, Agyemang, Pegram, Balmer, Johnson.
Scorers: Čanković 43′, Seike 71′.
Referee: Stacey Pearson.
Attendance: 3,765.
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