Nüsken double gives Chelsea WCL quarter-final advantage against Ajax

Chelsea earned a commanding first-leg lead in their Champions League quarter-final with a controlled 3-0 defeat of Ajax in front of a record women’s football crowd in the Netherlands of 35,991 fans.

After a thrilling 3-1 win against Arsenal at Stamford Bridge on Friday night, this was a less explosive performance but a well-managed one, with Lauren James scoring the opener and Sjoeke Nüsken scoring twice, mirroring Friday night, as Chelsea earned a fifth win in 16 days – five games into their eight in March.

Chelsea were unchanged from the team that secured the win over Arsenal in the league, with Nüsken again partnering James up top. For the home team, Kay-Lee de Sanders partnered the 18-year-old Isa Kardinaal at the back with Sherida Spitse suspended, while the 16-year-old midfielder Lily Yohannes, Tiny Hoekstra and Rosa van Gool returned to the starting XI after being rested for the team’s midweek 5-1 defeat of Jong Ajax in the Dutch cup.

Chelsea played themselves into trouble within minutes of kick-off in front of the record crowd, with the goalkeeper Hannah Hampton forced to race out and clear after Kadeisha Buchanan got into a mess and under-hit her back pass.

Emma Hayes said her side knew how good Ajax are, this was a team that earned home wins over Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and Roma at the Johan Cruyff Arena to earn their place in the quarter-finals. The manager said that Chelsea “certainly won’t be going into the game with our eyes shut” ahead of the match, but they took time to get going and Ajax would go close in the seventh minute, with the club’s new record goalscorer Romée Leuchter hammering an effort off the base of the post with Hampton beaten.

Yohannes became the first 16-year-old to feature in a Champions League quarter-final since Chelsea’s Jess Carter, the now 26-year-old having featured at the same age for Birmingham City against Arsenal at the same stage in 2014, but a challenge on Guro Reiten saw her go in the book, ensuring she misses the second leg at Stamford Bridge next week.

Chelsea dominated despite the early nervy moments, with 59% possession in the first half and 24 attacks to Ajax’s four and they capitalised on their superiority just inside 20 minutes. It was unlucky for Ajax, with the ball taking a deflection to fall into the path of James behind them and the forward rifled it in. The flag was up but James was clearly onside and, after a VAR check, the technology introduced for the knockout stage, the goal was given.

Despite Chelsea’s superiority they didn’t look totally comfortable at the back and Hampton’s attempt to bring the ball out after receiving a back pass saw her take a heavy touch that Leuchter would pounce on, it was sent back to Yohannes but the youngster’s effort, with Hampton awol, sailed over the bar.

Chelsea thought they had doubled their advantage when Reiten miscued her header from James’s cross, saw the ball come off her heel and fall kindly for her to prod in. But after a long VAR check, Nüsken was adjudged to have blocked Kardinaal from a possible clearance off the line.

After the check Hayes’s side had their two-goal cushion within minutes of the restart. Buchannan’s wonderful Cruyff turn was followed by a defence-splitting pass which found Reiten and the forward swung it in from the left for Nüsken to steer in from close range.

The second half lacked the clinical edge of the first, with the Blues going close via Erin Cuthbert and Nüsken and Ajax looking dangerous on the break but struggling to carve out openings in the final third. Chelsea would finally add a third in the 83rd minute, with the substitute Catarina Macario delivering for Nüsken to nod in from close range.

Ajax battled to reduce the margin ahead of their trip to London next week, but they were unable to find the back of the net giving them a mountain to climb away from home.