After Chelsea FCW had started the 22/23 season with a narrow defeat against Liverpool, it was all about getting the first win of the season. The Blues did indeed manage to come back stronger. A convincing performance at sold-out Kingsmeadow saw them beat Manchester City by 2-0. The CFCW Social took a closer look at what changed and improved in comparison to the Liverpool game and how we secured our first victory of the season.
Formation
The return of Ann-Katrin Berger in goal after completing cancer treatment was, without a doubt, the best news of the day. The goalkeeper played as if she‘d never been away and secured a clean sheet for the London outfit. Further changes were made at the back. Sunday‘s game saw the return of a “classic” and established back-four. Maren Mjelde returned to the starting XI at right back. Millie Bright and Kadeisha Buchanan partnered at the centre of defence, while captain Magda Eriksson kept her role as a left fullback.
Jessie Fleming was another player who was welcomed back to the starting formation. The Canadian, together with Erin Cuthbert, formed a promising double-pivot in midfield. Guro Reiten (left) and rising-star Lauren James (right) covered a lot of ground on the wings, driving Chelsea‘s attacking play forward with pace and creativity. Behind striker Sam Kerr, Fran Kirby kept her position as #10.
The set-up
It was last season‘s top scorer who had the first chance of the game after only ten seconds. The Blues took Manchester City by surprise with a quick sequence of passes. Reiten did what she is the best at, whipping in a dangerous cross to Kerr in the box. However, the Australian‘s shot went just wide past the left post. It was an early warning sign for the Citizens, which underlined Chelsea‘s ambition to relentlessly go for the three points.
Chelsea‘s early pressure and City‘s high press posed a lively start to the game. The away side made early runs to interrupt the London outfit‘s build-up play at the back. Up front, Kirby was seen looking for and dropping into the spaces left by Manchester‘s players. James covered a lot of ground on the right wing, just like in the game against Liverpool. However, this time, she focused on the offensive aspects of her game and didn‘t shift into a role as a wingback.
In central midfield, Cuthbert and Fleming dictated the tempo with their passing. However, the Scot played more defensively and went into a lot of duels to win the ball from the opposition. Fleming set more offensive accents during the 90 minutes. She travelled into the final third with the ball at her feet passing on to Kirby or one of the wingers.
This meant that Chelsea played with a rather flexible double pivot in midfield. However, it became clear that these two going forward, especially Fleming, left space in midfield. Manchester City went on to exploit this space. When the opponents won back the ball in the central areas, they used the spaces as running channels in their rapid counter. After making their way to the Blue’s box, they would then go for the shot.
Looking for the opener
The home side had two more chances in the 9th (Fleming, after a cross from James) and 11th minute (Reiten released Kerr who tried to set up Kirby in the box). The Citizens, however, grew into the game. Especially in the first half, they had more possession, looked dangerous going forward and explosive. In several situations, Chelsea struggled especially when trying to clear the long balls that were brought forward onto the strikers Bunny Shaw and Chloe Kelly.
In the 28th minute, it was Mjelde who heroically denied Chloe Kelly. Back in goal, Berger proved to be Chelsea‘s safest pair of hands. She made some stunning saves to keep the clean sheet for her team.
Overall, Chelsea had 59% possession, which is slightly more than Manchester City‘s 41%. In addition, the London outfit had a slightly higher passing accuracy (81%) than their opponents (78%). When looking at this, it becomes clear how even the game was at times.
Despite scoring two goals later on, the Blues had a lower xG of 1.68 than City, who had an xG of 1.75 for the game. Bunny Shaw especially posed a great threat when on the ball, shooting from several positions in front of the goal. In total, the Citizens registered 14 shots, of which five were on target. For Chelsea, it was 10 shots, with four on target.
However, the home side became slow in the press after the opening phase of the game. They allowed City to build up from the back and bring the ball forward. The City defenders were especially looking to set up Shaw and Kelly with long-range passes. As Chelsea stood too deep, they didn‘t manage to interrupt City‘s passing effectively. However, the opponents weren‘t able to convert any of their chances.
Growing into the game
Chelsea scored the first goal of the game just when it looked like Manchester City were dominating the game. After patient build up play from the back, it was Fleming who made a key-pass to Reiten. The LW then registered her first assist of the season, when setting up Kirby who effortlessly flicked the ball into the net. Chelsea‘s first shot on target ended up being their first goal in the 42nd minute.
The Blues came back into the second half of the game being much calmer and composed on the ball. In addition, they became more consistent in possession. An early change saw Fleming make way (65th minute) for Sophie Ingle, who brought more balance to the midfield. Having two defensive-minded players in the centre enabled Chelsea to close the gaps that opened up when going forward.
This time, the fullbacks didn‘t push as high as they did in the game against Liverpool. Only Eriksson could be found in City‘s half as a ball-carrying defender. The reduced fluidity in Chelsea‘s play brought more stability and the players had a more clear plan of where to be, as well as what to do.
It was James, who registered two (70th and 76th minute) dangerous shots on goal. At the other end, Berger was her risky, but reliable self. Right after Chelsea‘s promising chances, the Blues were awarded a penalty for handball after a Sophie Ingle shot was blocked by an arm in the box. It was Mjelde who stepped up and hammered a powerful strike into the net to seal all three points for the home side.
Conclusion
After struggling with Manchester City‘s high press, Chelsea found their feet and grew into the game. In comparison to the season opener against Liverpool, they had reduced the fluidity in their game and went for a classic back-four, without hybrid elements. However, the double-pivot of Cuthbert and Fleming saw gaps appearing in midfield, as the offensive-minded Canadian turned towards the final third. Cuthbert, who took up her tasks superbly, was however left as the only cover at the centre, unable to defend all spaces by herself.
A strong performance by Chelsea’s defenders and goalkeeper prevented City from scoring. Star players like Lauren Hemp were kept quiet and the Blues celebrated their first victory of the season with a sold-out crowd at Kingsmeadow.