Switzerland’s finest went head to head against one of England’s greatest teams, but Chelsea Women proved to be the better side as they narrowly beat Servette Women 1-0. Find out more in the match report below.
Starting XI
Servette Women starting XI: Pereira, Mendes, Felber, Spälti, Soulard, Tufo, Maendly, Padilla, Lagonia, Nakkach, Boho.
Chelsea Women starting XI: Mušović, Mjelde, Bright, Eriksson, Andersson, Charles, Ji, Ingle, Kerby, Kerr, England.
Servette were looking for their first UEFA Women’s Champions League win, but many fans knew that doing that against Chelsea would be difficult after their last matchup. They started in a 4-3-2-1 formation and were attempting to play counter-attacking football. Three changes were made from the team that lost to Chelsea 7-0, with the main one being Maendly coming in to allow Lagonia to play more attacking.
Chelsea were looking to continue their then 12 games unbeaten run, and Emma Hayes knew that if Chelsea played well, then they could easily get through them and finish a few chances. The Blues started in a 4-4-2, with Fran Kirby dropping down to a midfield position. Hayes made 6 changes from the team which thumped City 4-0, with the main absence being Jessie Fleming, who has really stood out in recent weeks.
FIRST HALF STARTS
HALF TIME
It was a fantastic first half for Servette, as they didn’t allow Chelsea to play through their defence. Emma Hayes’ side was never going to do what they’d done the first time round, but they just didn’t take their chances. There were no changes for either team at the break, which showed that Emma Hayes believed in the eleven she put out.
SECOND HALF STARTS
SAMANTHA KERR (CHELSEA 1-0 SERVETTE)
It was them again! Kerr and Kirby linked up again, and their superb partnership got Chelsea in front! Kirby threaded Kerr through and the Australian did well to shake off her marker and slotted the ball home.
FULL TIME
It was a quality performance from Servette, but they still weren’t victors on the day, as Chelsea grinded out a narrow 1-0 win after Sam Kerr scored in the last half-an-hour of the match. Servette were better, as they stayed in their shape and were very good in doing so. However, they are now mathematically eliminated from the Champions League, so they can focus on winning the Swiss Super League. Anyways, that’s all from me. Bye!
