Match report: Chelsea Women 9-0 Feyenoord: ruthless Blues send statement to Europe
Lauren James scores a hat-trick as Chelsea thrash Feyenoord to send a message to their European rivals
Chelsea Women served up a superb attacking display as they thrashed Feyenoord 9-0 at Kingsmeadow on Thursday to qualify for the Champions League group stage with a 13-0 aggregate victory.
Lauren James was the star of the show, scoring a hat-trick to take her tally to four goals in two games this season. Sam Kerr, Pernille Harder and Guro Reiten also got on the scoresheet as the Blues showed no mercy to their Dutch opponents.
The result was a resounding statement of intent from Chelsea, who are looking to make a major impact in Europe this season. Last season, they reached the semi-finals of the Champions League for the first time, and they will be hoping to go one step further this time around.
Chelsea started the game brightly and took the lead after just seven minutes when James slotted home from close range. Kerr doubled the lead shortly after, heading in from a corner.
Feyenoord had a chance to get back into the game when they were awarded a penalty, but Chelsea goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger saved brilliantly from Rhian Blundell.
Chelsea continued to dominate and added a third goal before half-time when Harder fired into the bottom corner. James completed her hat-trick early in the second half, and Reiten made it five with a stunning strike from outside the box.
Substitute Bethany England added two more goals in quick succession, and Harder wrapped up the scoring with a late penalty.
Chelsea manager Emma Hayes was delighted with her team's performance.
"I thought we were excellent tonight," she said. "We were ruthless in attack and defended brilliantly. It was a great team performance and I'm really pleased with the way we played."
Chelsea will now face Real Madrid in the group stage of the Champions League. The first leg will be played at Stamford Bridge on October 19.
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