Chelsea 4-0 Paris FC: Thompson stars as hosts run riot

Chelsea responded to their sluggish Champions League start in emphatic fashion, sweeping aside Paris FC with a dominant 4-0 win on Wednesday.

After being unexpectedly held to a draw by FC Twente in their league phase opener, the pressure was on the Blues to deliver, and Alyssa Thompson did exactly that as she scored and assisted at Stamford Bridge.

Anaele Le Moguedec was harshly penalised for a challenge on Sjoeke Nusken inside the box just after the half-hour mark, allowing Sandy Baltimore to step up and confidently bury her penalty into the bottom corner, sending Mylene Chavas the wrong way.

The Blues continued to dominate from there, with Johanna Rytting Kaneryd doubling their advantage eight minutes later with a composed header off Thompson’s pinpoint cross.

The floodgates began to open completely after the break as Thompson turned scorer herself, reacting sharply to Keira Walsh’s deflected delivery just two minutes into the second half.

Chelsea added further gloss with a scrappy fourth as a series of failed clearances inside the box from the Paris defenders opened the door for Erin Cuthbert to bundle home just past the hour mark.

Guro Reiten came close to adding a fifth late on, her looping strike clipping the top of the crossbar as Paris hung on to limit further damage.

Data Debrief: Chelsea extend dominance over Paris

Chelsea and Paris met twice in the Champions League group stage in 2023/24, playing each other home and away, with the Blues dominating both encounters.

They won 4-1 at home before triumphing 4-0 in Paris, setting a trend of dominance that Wednesday’s result only continued.

After stumbling in front of goal in their previous European outing against Twente, Sonia Bompastor’s side rediscovered their scoring touch, netting four times in a Champions League match for the first time since their 6-1 win over the Dutch outfit in December 2024.

Their dominance was reflected in the expected goals (xG) numbers, with Chelsea generating an impressive 3.74 xG compared to Paris’ mere 0.09.