MANCHESTER, 01 FEBRUARY — It was a goal fest at Etihad Stadium on Sunday as Manchester City proved their dominance in the Women’s Super League with a hat-trick amongst their 5-1 win over London’s Chelsea.
Brazilian forward Kerolin demonstrated the severity of her immense speed in a run up over half the pitch, the result of a Chelsea fumble in Manchester City’s half, to arch the ball over the Blues’ goalkeeper Hannah Hampton in the 49th minute for the second goal of her hat-trick performance.
“Without the team I can’t do anything,” Kerolin said. “If we’re in this position right now, it’s because of the team. I’m really happy to help. It’s very nice to score a hat-trick against Chelsea but we need to keep going and look forward.”
Manchester City took a lead in the 13th minute when 25-year-old Kerolin capitalised on a failed Chelsea clearance from Kerstin Casparij’s corner, firing through a crowded penalty area into an unguarded net with goalkeeper Hampton caught out of position after advancing to assist her defence.
Jamaica’s Khadija “Bunny” Shaw had ice in her veins as Chelsea defender Naomi Girma fought her down to the last second, but the forward could not be deterred. Hampton predicted a low ball from Shaw, but the attacker arched over an outstretched left leg from the goalkeeper and found the back of the net in the 36th minute for City’s second goal of the match.
Chelsea scrambled after finding themselves down 2-0 in the first half, and in the 38th minute head coach Sonia Bompastor was booked for descent.
“There are a lot of things to say about the performance,” Bompastor said. “Really disappointed. We were not efficient at all on the pitch. We made too many mistakes and when you play against a team like Manchester City, you just get punished.”
English forward Lauren Hemp carried the ball up the left wing and locked her target on Kerolin, who made easy work of Chelsea’s defense to find the net for a third time in the 54th minute. Cityzens cheered “easy, easy, easy” as the once unbeatable Chelsea fell hard to the league table leaders.
At 4-0, 2025 signing Alyssa Thompson took a chance to get the Blues on the score sheet. City attempted to clear in their own box, only to ricochet the ball straight to Thompson who shot from outside the 18-yard-box and rocketed the ball past a diving Ayaka Yamashita in the 68th minute.
City reclaimed their four goal margin lead only four minutes later, after another Casparij corner landed on the head of her Dutch teammate Vivianne Miedema in the 72nd minute to make it 5-1.
Chelsea have lost back-to-back WSL matches for the first time in 11 years, and suffer their biggest defeat since their 2018 Arsenal defeat that finished 5-0.
Manchester City tightens their grasp on the WSL title with an 11 point lead over second-ranked Manchester United, and Chelsea remain at third with 27 points. The Blues stay on the road as they look to turn their recent performances around against fifth-ranked Tottenham Hotspur on 8th February at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
