Sonia Bompastor’s Chelsea looked to get back to winning ways against Tottenham Hotspur after the French coach suffered consecutive defeats for the first time in her managerial career.
The Blues offered Bompastor a contract extension midweek, and she made two changes to the side who were torn apart at the Etihad Stadium last week – Sjoeke Nusken came in to replace Wieke Kaptein, while Johanna Rytting Kaneryd was brought in for Sandy Baltimore.
With Madonna watching on, Tottenham would have been hoping to give her an A-list performance by avoiding defeat to their London rivals for the first time after suffering 17 consecutive defeats to the current WSL champions.
The hosts began the game brightly, causing plenty of issues to a nervous Chelsea side, and they fell to an unfortunate deficit after the opening period, with the superb positioning of the experienced Keira Walsh giving The Blues a first half lead.
The visitors began the second period much like they ended the first – this time with an excellent eye from Scottish midfielder Erin Cuthbert to find Nusken over the top whose shot was saved into the path of Alyssa Thompson, who struck in consecutive games for the second time already in 2026.
Chelsea then continued to find themselves right in the game as the second half progressed, and The Blues saw out what ended up being a comfortable 2-0 victory to send them back above Arsenal and into the top three.
Here are VAVEL’s Chelsea player ratings for the clash.
Chelsea Player Ratings
Hannah Hampton – 6.5
Had a much better and more comfortable performance in between the sticks today. Hampton was forced into a couple of saves, but none of which truly tested her. England’s number one perhaps should have conceded late on, but an effort from Olivia Holdt went straight into her arms.
Naomi Girma – 6
Looked a touch more switched on than last week against Man City, and Girma made some important blocks and tackles throughout. Central to many of the times defensively where she was required to get the ball clear when under pressure.
Millie Bright – 6
Looked to remain calm and composed after what was a nervous opening period. Bright led a much a tighter and more compact defence in the second half which helped seal the win once The Blues defence was able to settle into the game.
Came off with injury late on in the game.
Ellie Carpenter – 6.5
Rapid and threatening down the right flank. Carpenter caused plenty of problems for the Tottenham backline throughout, including whipping in multiple crosses into dangerous areas.
Sjoeke Nüsken – 7.5
Showed some excellent ability to read the play defensively in the opening 20 minutes after Spurs looked like they may break the deadlock before Nusken came to the rescue and blocked the effort.
Equally, going forward, Nusken made the brilliant run which drew in a brilliant ball from Cuthbert which led to Chelsea’s second goal.
Veerle Buurman – 5
Buurman failed to make much of an impact in this game. She did make a couple of blocks and interceptions in defence but overall was unable to truly contribute to this victory. She wasn’t at her best with the ball either, and lost seven duels during the game as Chelsea continued to look nervous in the opening period.
Lauren James – 5
Failed to offer much of her trademark dangerous dribbles in the first half. James looked much more like herself in the second period, and drew in a couple of important fouls throughout, forcing opposing goalkeeper Lize Kop into a strong save.
Erin Cuthbert – 6
Excellent ball to find Nusken early in the second half in a pass that effectively made the second goal happen. Cuthbert looked strong in midfield, cutting out passing lanes well and efficiently looking to get the ball up the pitch once Chelsea looked more settled.
Keira Walsh – 6.5
Walsh made a brilliant, precise ball over the top early on in the first half, creating a chance The Blues perhaps could have utilised to gain an early lead.
Minutes before the interval, Walsh took on that role herself, firing the visitors into what was a surprising lead after positioning herself excellently from a corner to blast her team ahead.
Alyssa Thompson – 7
Was not really involved too much in the first period, Thompson’s first real contribution of the game was finding herself in a perfect position to feed off a parried save to double Chelsea’s lead.
Johanna Rytting Kaneryd - 6.5
Getting the nod to start up front this week, Kaneryd took full advantage of the chance, making numerous darting and dangerous runs as Chelsea looked very threatening down the right flank.
Substitutes:
Lexi Potter – 6.5
Wasn’t really required to have to stand out too much in the second half. Potter did her job exceptionally well and played a role to a tee – didn’t really step a foot wrong or put her team in trouble.
Sandy Baltimore – 5.5
Failed to really get into the game since coming on. Had the ball on few occasions and was dispossessed or gave the ball away on multiple occasions.
Guro Reiten – 6
Reiten did not quite have enough time to have an impact on the match, only playing 11 minutes in all.
Samantha Kerr – 6
Much the same as Reiten, Kerr was not able to have much of an influence on the match as she would have hoped. Came on more for fresh legs as Chelsea generally looked to see out the game.
Chloe Sarwie – N/A