Match report
Thank you very much for joining me for the goalfest. Suzanne Wrack’s report will be here very soon.
Full-time: Servette 0-7 Chelsea
It was all very easy for Chelsea, who will be slightly disappointed to not hit double figures.
90 mins: The referee is injured but she seems to have been injured and his biting her wrist in pain. Medical staff from both clubs have come onto the pitch but she’s sent them away.
Three minutes added on.
88 mins: England keeps being unselfish but it is not helping her team; she collects a pass inside the box, puts it onto her right foot but then tries to pass - when shooting looks the best option - losing the ball as it is intercepted.
86 mins: Boho Sayo gets the ball on the left flank, she cuts inside and hopes for the best with her shot from 20 yards but it flies high and wide.
84 mins: Guede takes aim from 25 yards for Servette as they look for a consolation but it loops well over the bar.
82 mins: The pace has dropped off and Chelsea do not look like they can increase it with ease as they could earlier on.
80 mins: Fair play to the 12,782 tonight who have made noise throughout and are enjoying the occasion despite their team being well off the pace.
78 mins: Bright, who I assume is just bored, takes a poor touch which loops up and bounces towards her weaker left foot but she does not care, so takes a swipe from 35 yards, barely makes contact and watches the ball dribble wide.
75 mins: England gets her first sniff of goal but she decides to try and pull it across for a teammate to tap in. Sadly for those in yellow, a defender reads the danger and sends it behind.
Updated
73 mins: Servette have spent a bit more time in the Chelsea half in recent times but they just look too tired to muster anything.
71 mins: Boho Sayo lifts a looping cross into the box for Lagonia to attack but she is offside and the flag goes up to end the attack.
69 mins: Spence has another chance to let fly from distance, this time drilling the ball across goal from 20 yards but it goes inches wide.
67 mins: Mjelde comes on for Carter. She has not played since suffering a knee injury in the Continental Cup final in March. England is also on for Chelsea.
65 mins: Spence tries to get in on the act with a shot from the edge of the box but it pings back off the crossbar and away.
63 mins: Chelsea have lost a bit of their spark since the changes were made, it has to be said. Admittedly, they are seven goals to the good, so they probably aren’t too bothered.
61 mins: Musovic has just had a touch, admittedly it came in the form of a backpass but it’s something to keep her awake.
59 mins: Charles lifts a cross into the area but it bounces onto the top of the net. Hopefully the substitutions will not take the sting out of Chelsea’s game.
57 mins: The Chelsea subs begin: Reiten, Cuthbert and Eriksson are replaced by Fox, Charles and Andersson.
55 mins: Reiten just about gets the ball under control and lifts a cross to the back post but a Servette defends flicks it clear.
53 mins: The ball goes into box where Kerr controls, but to go against everything else that has happened in the match, she is well tackled and Chelsea win a corner.
51 mins: A delay to the restart as a Servette player is treated for something or other but they might just be looking for an excuse to get off the pitch.
GOAL! Servette 0-7 Chelsea (Reiten, 49)
Another smart move by Chelsea sees Kerr lay the ball across the box into the path of Reiten who slots into the corner.
Updated
47 mins: Cuthbert sends the ball through for Kerr to latch onto; she chips the goalkeeper at the first time of asking but the ball bounces just wide.
Servette made a half-time change, with Maendly coming on for Fleury.
Second half
Will we get to double figures? Almost certainly.
Just eaten an olive stuffed with garlic, so I am primed for the second half.
The sixth goal.
Sensational sIx courtesy of Fleming 💛
— DAZN Football (@DAZNFootball) November 9, 2021
🎙🏴👉 https://t.co/w3c1mLgcwr
🎙🇫🇷👉 https://t.co/6UEMUOyn7u pic.twitter.com/eKSQqBHJOj
The stats say Chelsea have had 15 shots but it also says Servette had one in the opening 45 minutes and I have completely forgotten about it. I genuinely do not think Musovic has touched the ball but I could be wrong.
Half-time: Servette 0-6 Chelsea
Servette cannot cope with Chelsea’s quality and it has been as one-sided as the score suggests. Chelsea have played well in the final third but no one in maroon has really tried to stop them.
45 mins: One minute added on.
42 mins: Fleming lines one up from 25 yards and strikes it well but her shot is straight at Pereira who very happily takes hold.
Moments later, Cuthbert swings in a cross from the right for Kerr to attack but she gets under the ball, heading it straight up in the air for Pereira to claim.
40 mins: Servette need to be more intelligent here. They are getting absolutely hammered but are leaving three players up top at all times. There is naive and there is NAIVE.
GOAL! Servette 0-6 Chelsea (Fleming, 38)
Servette cannot have come up against a side as good as this and they can’t cope with the quality on show. Fleming scores the latest goal by getting beyond the defence and smashing a shot in at the near post.
Updated
36 mins: Boho Sayo gets caught on the top of the foot by Leupolz and goes down in pain. She has some treatment and looks OK to continue.
34 mins: Fleming pulls the ball back to Spence to take a first-time shot on the move but she hits it straight at Pereira.
32 mins: Chelsea are quite happy to knock the ball around their back three for long periods but they can then move the ball up the pitch quickly and once their midfielders have possession, they can open the defence instantly. This is proved by their latest move up the pitch, which sees Reiten collect a crossfield pass, before putting it onto her right foot and curling a shot just wide from 20 yards.
30 mins: Hayes will be able to give those who have started both tonight and against Aston Villa at the weekend a rest soon after the break.
28 mins: Servette are learning a cruel lesson about the difference in standard between the Swiss league and the WSL.
GOAL! Servette 0-5 Chelsea (Kirby, 26)
The Servette defending is truly woeful. The ball is goes through for Fleming to chase - she is given acres of space by the centre-back, so collects easily and knocks to Kirby to take her time over before dinking in from a yard or two.
24 mins: Chelsea are in total control and quickly moving from first to fifth gear, which Servette cannot cope with. Needless to say, the scoring has not finished here.
22 mins: It is almost five, as Kerr gets the wrong side of the defence again but she sends the ball over from a tight angle inside the box.
Updated
GOAL! Servette 0-4 Chelsea (Kerr, 20)
This is far too easy. Kirby plays a lovely ball between the centre backs for Kerr to latch onto, she takes a touch and pokes home. Servette are having a long chat about how to sort this but I am not sure there is an answer, as there is just a gulf in class.
GOAL! Servette 0-3 Chelsea (Kerr, 18)
Servette get a corner but it is poor and ends up heading out of the box and away from everyone in maroon and yellow. Chelsea quickly break down the other end where Reiten plays a better cross to the back post for Leupolz to control into the path of Kerr, who sweeps home from six yards. Game over.
Updated
GOAL! Servette 0-2 Chelsea (Kirby, 16)
Spence passes the ball to Kerr, who plays a delightful first-time flick through the Servette defence for Kirby to latch onto, she takes a touch and then beats the goalkeeper to double the lead.
Updated
14 mins: Servette give some indication of what they can do going forward with some slick passing in a quick break but it ends when the final ball finds Boho Sayo a good few yards offside.
12 mins: Play is stopped as Reiten has some sort of mouth issue and does a bit of spitting to sort it out. She is OK and play restarts.
10 mins: Centre-back Bright is operating as a right-winger, which is a sign of Chelsea’s domination.
GOAL! Servette 0-1 Chelsea (Leupolz, 8)
The German international latches onto a Bright pass into the box, takes a touch with her right and then thwacks it across the goalkeeper with her left. I am not sure Servette have made it out of their half thus far. It could be a long evening for them.
Updated
6 mins: There is a lot of action in the Servette box as Reiten finds Kirby once more, she tries to create space for herself but is crowded out by maroon shirts.
4 mins: Chelsea should be a goal ahead. The ball is pulled back to Kirby on the penalty spot, she lines up a shot but it is straight at Pereira who palms it straight back to the forward, only to whack the ball against the crossbar.
2 mins: Nakkach goes down in agony near the halfway line after getting a stray arm in the face but she gets up without issue.
Kick-off
Peep! Peep! Peep! Here we go.
There are more than 10,000 people in the stadium tonight, which is great to see. Almost all of them have a flag, too.
The game is live on YouTube. You can watch it here:
Some WSL news ...
Zecira Musovic starts in goal for Chelsea as she gets the chance to get some minutes under her belt. The Sweden international has only made one league appearance this season, so will be desperate to show what she can do, although it could be a quiet night for her considering Servette’s record in this competition this thus far.
It looks like we will get a decent crowd tonight.
Servette’s head coach Eric Severac is on LinkedIn, allowing us to learn that he was previously finance director at The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. This seems like a change of pace.
I was at the mini Etihad for Chelsea’s FA Cup semi-final win over Manchester City last weekend. They dominated that match from start to finish against a relatively out of form City, so they will not be concerned about tonight’s opposition.
Kit news!
All yellow! 💛 #CFCW #UWCL pic.twitter.com/EsLKPSauUp
— Chelsea FC Women (@ChelseaFCW) November 9, 2021
Get in the mood for the match with Suzanne Wrack’s preview.
Starting lineups
Servette (4-3-3): Pereira; Soulard, Hurni, Spalti, Fleury; Lagonia, Tufo, Nakkach; Tamplin, Boho Sayo, Padilla-Bidas
Subs: Droz, Bourma, Felber, Maendly, Guede Redondo, Grivaz
Chelsea (3-4-3): Musovic; Carter, Bright, Eriksson; Cuthbert, Spence, Leupolz, Reiten; Fleming, Kirby, Kerr
Subs: Telford, Berger, Ingle, England, Ji, Mjedle, James, Charles, Andersson, Fox
Preamble
It all seems quite straightforward for Chelsea this evening. They are playing a team who have conceded eight in their opening two group games, while Chelsea remain unbeaten after tough tests against Wolfsburg and Juventus. The chances of a slip up at Servette are next to nothing but they will need to avoid complacency and put in a fully professional performance.
Servette have never come up against an English side and Chelsea boss Emma Hayes thinks they are an unknown quantity, which adds a bit of mystique to the fixture as we all find out together about the Swiss side.
Chelsea have kept clean sheets in their past two games, so come into the match in great form, having reached the FA Cup final by brushing aside Manchester City and followed it up with a stoic victory over Aston Villa by a single goal.
Let’s hope for some goals.
Kick-off: 5.45pm GMT
