Sam Kerr hat-trick lights up empty Stamford Bridge as Chelsea beat Paris FC

Australia striker’s instinctive finishing was difference between teams as London side edge towards knockout stages

Sam Kerr celebrates the second of her treble against Paris
Sam Kerr celebrates the second of her treble against Paris Credit: PA/John Walton

Chelsea 4 Paris FC 1

Chelsea manager Emma Hayes warned there is even more to come from Sam Kerr after the Chelsea star’s hat-trick in their 4-1 win over Paris FC bolstered their chances of progressing to the Women’s Champions knockout stages.

The French side, who stunned Arsenal by eliminating the north London club on penalties in the qualifying rounds and also knocked out last year’s finalists Wolfsburg to reach this stage, gave Chelsea plenty to think about but the quality of Australia striker Kerr’s instinctive finishing was the difference between the teams.

After Kerr had darted in front of her marker to poke in from a Lauren James cross, Thea Greboval equalised for the visitors with a header from a corner, but Kerr got her second from a swift Chelsea counter attack and she looped home an inventive lob to complete her treble. Wales’ Sophie Ingle netted a very late fourth for the hosts.

“I don’t know anyone who puts the ball away like she does,” Hayes said of Kerr, whom she revealed has been carrying a knock and is not a full fitness yet. “If that’s her at 80 per cent, I can’t wait for the 100 per cent.

“She’s so incisive with her movement. The third goal when she lobbed it was brilliant centre-forward play.”

Chelsea were without injured captain Millie Bright with a knock and it’s understood the centre-back could now be a doubt for England’s upcoming Nations League fixtures against Netherlands and Scotland, starting against the Dutch at Wembley next Friday. Hayes suggested the injury was linked to the knee problem that had kept Bright out for the four months prior to the start of this summer’s World Cup.

The game was played in front of a small crowd of around 4,000 fans and the atmosphere was flat as a result. It’s understood Chelsea had originally wanted this match to be played at Kingsmeadow, their usual women’s team’s home ground, where such a turnout would have prompted a packed house, but that much smaller venue in Kingston-upon-Thames does not meet Uefa’s regulations for this competition.

Kingsmeadow did not technically meet the Women’s Champions League regulations for the past two campaigns, despite Chelsea playing their group-stage fixtures there, but Chelsea were granted an exemption by Uefa for the 2021-22 season, and that exemption was further extended for last term because the clubs’ takeover was treated as special circumstances. This term, no extension has been granted.

While weekend Women’s Super League crowds at big stadiums are generally rising, crowds for the group-stages on weeknights in London have been consistently low. Last term, for example, at the Emirates in the group stages, Arsenal had crowds of 5,397, 6,592 & 7,711, before attracting a whopping 60,000 people for their semi-final against Wolfsburg.

Chelsea now have four points in the group and sit second, having opened with an away draw at Real Madrid. Swedish side Hacken pulled off a surprise win over Real on Thursday to go top of the group.

Match details

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Berger 6; Lawrence 7, Buchanan 5 (Mjelde 6, 83), Carter 6, Charles 6; Cuthbert 6, Nusken 6 (Ingle 6, 59); Rytting Kaneryd 6, Fleming 5 (Kirby 7, 46), James 7 (Perisset 6, 75); Kerr 8 (Fishel 6, 75).
Subs not used: Musovic (gk), Hampton (gk), Nouwen, Beever-Jones. Booked: Buchanan.
Paris FC (4-3-3): Nnadozie 6; Soyer 6, Sissoko 5 (Hocine 6, 82), Greboval 7, Bogaert 6 (Abdullina 6, 70); Korosec 6 (Le Mouel 6, 61), Thiney 7, Corboz 6; Mateo 6, Bordieu 7 (Fleury 6, 61), Dufour 6 (Bussy 6, 82).
Subs not used: Marques (gk), Flagellat (gk). 
‌Referee: Ivana Martincic (Croatia).
Attendance: 3,450