Chesea rout Eagles to maintain perfect start: Five things we learned from Crystal Palace 0-7 Chelsea | OneFootball

Chelsea secured a second win of the season on Friday night, beating Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park in a performance more becoming of champions than last week’s opening day.

It was very much a tale of two halves under the lights at Selhurst Park. Chelsea’s first half brought back sleep-inducing memories of last week’s 1-0 win over Aston Villa, while the second saw a blistering attacking display worthy of a sixth consecutive WSL title.

It was the much-loved Aggie Beever-Jones who opened the scoring, finishing off a blistering counterattack led by Johanna Rytting Kaneryd, though the travelling faithful were made to wait for the opener as Chelsea struggled to break down the hosts’ low block.

The tone for the second half was set after just a few seconds as Lucy Bronze opened her Chelsea account with a gorgeous curling effort into the far corner, the type of goal that emphasized her professionalism and European class. Bompastor will hope that goal is the first of many.

James added a third to put the result out of reach for Palace before Guro Reiten added a fourth, finishing a sweet team move.

A fifth was added by way of Nathalie Bjorn after a chaotic penalty box scramble before Reiten added a sixth.

Chelsea smelled blood in the water and continued to hunt, with Cat Macario adding a clinical seventh in injury time.

While Chelsea looked far from convincing in the first half, they went through the gears in the final 20 minutes, scoring goal after goal as they routed Palace, pushing for more even in the dying moments. It was not the home WSL debut Laura Kaminski’s side might have dreamed of.

Here’s five things we learned from Crystal Palace 0-7 Chelsea.

Lauren James slots seamlessly back into the squad

Arguably the storyline of the evening was Lauren James’ long awaited return to the Chelsea squad, making her first competitive appearance under Bompastor, and she quickly set about terrorizing the Crystal Palace back line. Playing in her usual free-form role, she enjoyed a pair of early chances before having a first goal controversially ruled out, going narrowly wide again after 20 minutes.

You would never have guessed she had been injured in the first place. Her dribbling was as tight and effortless as ever, and her physicality saw Palace actively avoiding her in possession.

The predominant drawback in her performance was that rash streak which saw her infamously sent off for England against Nigeria at the World Cup in 2023. She was in the referee’s book in less than a quarter of an hour after unceremoniously dumping Josie Green out of play, leaving her treading on eggshells for the majority of the match, and could arguably have seen a second yellow before the break for a cynical foul as Palace attempted to counter.

Palace approach the game like a promoted side but it did not pay off

The host’s approach may seem to many like the obvious choice – a newly promoted side playing the reigning champion should be expected to sit in and look for the counter attack, right?

Unfortunately, though, it did not quite come together. Despite a wealth of pace on either flank from Mille Gejl and Indiah-Paige Riley, there seemed to be a disconnect in the buildup. Misplaced passes and overlapping runs failed to cut in attack.

The Eagles also managed a rash of turnovers high up the pitch but seemed to panic on the ball, perhaps a touch starstruck by the occasion.

Chelsea did seem confounded at times by the low block setup in the opening period but ultimately cruised. Regardless of how unconvincing Chelsea may be, the class always shines through.

Beever-Jones vindicates Bompastor’s trust

Chelsea’s opening match of the season, in which they narrowly downed Aston Villa at Kingsmeadow, was one marked by toothless attacking, with Mayra Ramirez struggling to influence the game from the front lines.

Ramirez, the third most expensive women’s footballer of all time, was relegated to the bench tonight, and Beever-Jones grabbed her chance with both hands, scoring a fourteenth Chelsea goal in just her 36th appearance.

While she had a quiet match all told, her clinical nature is exactly what Chelsea needed to kickstart their demolition job. The onus will be on Ramirez now to reclaim her spot in the starting lineup.

Palace will be pushed to success by their fans

The Eagles did not give the home support a massive amount to cheer about tonight, but they found plenty of excuse to sing, remaining in full voice right up to the final whistle.

A group of ultras in the Holmesdale Road stand stayed on their feet throughout, flying red and blue colours in spite of the scoreline.

After having shipped eleven goals in two matches, this may well prove to be a very long season for Palace, but to have the backing of the fans will make all the difference as they fight to stay afloat.

Goalscoring full backs could be key to Chelsea’s title charge

Every good team needs a secret weapon, and for Chelsea in 2024 that could prove to be Lucy Bronze and Ashley Lawrence: a consummate pair of modern full backs.

Bronze opened her Chelsea account today with a goal worth adding to an already illustrious highlight reel, while Lawrence impressed with repeated attacking runs, going close to goal more than once.

In a season which will come down to fine margins, Chelsea may have found a difference maker.

Featured photo credit: Warren Little/Getty Images via One Football