Sam Kerr returned from a 634-day injury layoff as Chelsea beat Aston Villa 3-1 in the WSL, and marked the occasion with her 100th goal for the Blues.
The Australia international ruptured her ACL at a warm-weather training camp in January 2024, and finally returned to action at Villa Park as she replaced Johanna Rytting Kaneryd with a quarter of an hour left to play.
And she picked up right where she left off, firing home after a six-yard box scramble to add the reigning champions’ third goal of the day.
It completes a century of goals in Chelsea colours for Kerr, and marks a serious statement of intent to the rest of the WSL - she is out to make up for lost time.
“It means everything,” Kerr said of her achievement. “To score 100 goals for any club is amazing, but to do it for a club like Chelsea is incredible. It’s something I’m really proud of and I don’t take it lightly.”
It was a hard-fought win for the Blues in Birmingham. Aggie Beever-Jones opened the scoring after 22 minutes, heading home for her second goal of the campaign, before Ebony Salmon drew the hosts level with a sweetly-hit curler from the edge of the penalty area which left Hannah Hampton rooted.
But an unfortunate deflection restored Chelsea’s lead in the second half, as Keira Walsh’s wayward shot was inadvertently knocked goalwards by Missy Bo Kearns. The substitute Kerr then extended the visitors’ advantage in injury time.
Alyssa Thompson, a Deadline Day signing from Angel City, also made her debut off the bench.
The win leaves Chelsea third in the table with two matches played, trailing Arsenal and Manchester United on goal difference.
The Red Devils put five past the newly-promoted London City Lionesses earlier on Sunday as Jocelyn Prechuer struggles to get his wealth of summer signings on song.
The Gunners, meanwhile, cruised to a 5-1 victory over West Ham on Friday night after an awkward gaffe from goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar gifted the Hammers an early advantage.
