Chelsea have one foot in the semi-final after an emphatic 3-0 victory over Ajax in the first leg of their Women’s Champions League quarter-final.
Lauren James and Sjoeke Nusken, the emergency strike partnership who saw off Arsenal in the WSL on Friday, did it again in Amsterdam. James opened the scoring before Nusken scored twice to continue her outstanding form. After going almost four months without a goal, Nusken has now scored four in five days.
James thought she was offside when she walked round Regina van Eijk in the 20th minute, but VAR proved otherwise. Nusken inadvertently caused a Guro Reiten goal to be disallowed on the stroke of half-time – but she made amends moments later by sliding Reiten’s superb cross into the net.
A young Ajax side had started well, with their record goalscorer Romee Leuchter hitting the post early on, but the timing of Chelsea’s second goal flattened them.
Chelsea managed the second half expertly, controlling the game without ever needing to hit top gear. The only question was whether they would get any more goals. Nusken provided the answer with a bullet header from the substitute Catarina Macario’s cross.
More to follow…