Chelsea extended their unbeaten start to the Women's Super League season with a ruthless victory over Aston Villa at the Poundland Bescot Stadium.
Goals from Millie Bright and Fran Kirby put the Blues in control at half-time, before Johanna Rytting Kaneryd, Ashley Lawrence, Aggie Beever-Jones and Niamh Charles compounded a miserable afternoon for Carla Ward's home side.
Ward may come under pressure after this heavy defeat, with Villa sitting bottom of the table without a point yet this season.
League leaders Chelsea, who announced boss Emma Hayes will leave the club at the end of the season after the match, have now won four and drawn one of their first five games.
Hayes' reigning champions came into the weekend level on points with Manchester City, who face Arsenal on Sunday.
Both City and Arsenal have title pretensions, but Chelsea delivered a statement result with this Saturday stroll.
The hosts started brightly with a high press, but it was Chelsea who went close first when Rytting Kaneryd's shot was saved by Daphne van Domselaar and cleared by Danielle Turner.
Moments later, Rytting Kaneryd drove forward again before finding Kirby, whose curling effort clipped the top of the bar.
Villa should have gone ahead through Rachel Daly when Chelsea failed to clear Kirsty Hanson's low cross, but the England international fired over the bar from point-blank range.
Her miss proved costly as Chelsea took the lead after 21 minutes. Villa battled to clear after a short-corner routine before Bright volleyed in on her 250th appearance for the Blues.
Suddenly, Chelsea found their rhythm and doubled their lead five minutes later. Rytting Kaneryd broke free down the right and her cross eventually fell to Kirby who, after seeing an initial shot blocked, forced the ball home.
Van Domselaar just about kept Villa in the contest as half-time approached, denying the Blues twice. First, she held Jessie Fleming's effort from distance, before smothering Kirby's shot.
Kirby thought she had added another goal just seconds after the break, but her smart finish was ruled out for offside.
Four minutes before the hour, Rytting Kaneryd, a thorn in Villa's side throughout, raced through to deservedly add a third and cement Chelsea's dominance.
They were running riot, looking threatening with every attack. Substitute Lawrence found herself unmarked in the area and finished Fleming's cross well, before Beever-Jones cut in from the left to make it five.
With 17 minutes remaining, Charles got in on the act with her first goal of the campaign, turning home Rytting Kaneryd's cross to wrap up the win.
No Kerr, no problem for Chelsea
Even though Villa's form this season has been poor, their quality on paper suggested they could cause Chelsea problems.
Hayes' decision to rest Sam Kerr would have been contentious if Chelsea struggled to break down Villa's defence, but the away side were irresistible and the signs were there when Kirby struck the woodwork.
Kerr was not missed, nor needed from the bench, as Chelsea cut through the home side at will in the second half. There was no Guro Reiten or Lauren James either, but Chelsea were no less dynamic for it.
The manner in which the goals were shared out will be a huge source of pride for Hayes, while Rytting Kaneryd's relentless running and willingness to commit defenders consistently set the tone for a win that shows Chelsea will be tough to stop again this season.
Line-ups
Aston Villa Women
Formation 4-3-3
- 1van Domselaar
- 2Mayling
- 4PattenBooked at 35mins
- 14Turner
- 33Pacheco
- 8NobbsSubstituted forCorsieat 71'minutes
- 5StaniforthSubstituted forMcLoughlinat 80'minutes
- 19Blindkilde Brown
- 7LehmannSubstituted forSalmonat 70'minutes
- 9Daly
- 20Hanson
Substitutes
- 6Corsie
- 16McLoughlin
- 17Salmon
- 18Mullett
- 21Leat
- 23Leon
Chelsea Women
Formation 3-4-1-2
- 30Berger
- 15PérissetSubstituted forMjeldeat 78'minutes
- 4BrightSubstituted forBuchananat 78'minutes
- 7Carter
- 19Rytting Kaneryd
- 6Nüsken
- 22CuthbertSubstituted forCankovicat 64'minutes
- 21Charles
- 14KirbySubstituted forLawrenceat 58'minutes
- 2FishelSubstituted forBeever-Jonesat 58'minutes
- 17Fleming
Substitutes
- 1Musovic
- 3Nouwen
- 5Ingle
- 12Lawrence
- 18Mjelde
- 20Kerr
- 26Buchanan
- 28Cankovic
- 33Beever-Jones
- Referee:
- Abigail Byrne
- Attendance:
- 4,086
Match Stats
Live Text
Match ends, Aston Villa Women 0, Chelsea Women 6.
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