- Chelesa attempts to become European champion before Hayes leaves
- They put in a championship performance in a dominant first leg in Amsterdam
- CHRIS SUTTON reveals his all-time favorite last-minute goals – Listen to the It all starts podcast
This could have been a potential banana peel in Chelsea’s quest to become European champions.
With the draws for the quarter-finals and semi-finals taking place at the same time, there was a danger of looking past the last eight matches with Ajax to a possible clash with three-time winners Barcelona.
But Emma Hayes isn’t letting her players get ahead of themselves.
This was a classic Chelsea performance. Professional, efficient and champion-like. This 3-0 victory in Amsterdam, thanks to a goal from Lauren James and a brace from Sjoeke Nusken, will certainly be enough to advance them to the semi-finals. But Hayes won’t see it that way. There’s still a leg to play and she says the job isn’t done until it’s done.
With this Ajax’s first appearance in the knockout phase, Chelsea were considered favorites and secured this draw. But the Dutch side are not mediocre raiders. Coming from a group that included Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and Roma, they also had a formidable record at the Johan Cruyff Arena, having won all three of their group matches here.
Sjoeke Nusken (second from right) scored a brace for Chelsea as they took a big step towards the Champions League semi-finals
The Blues want to win the Champions League before manager Emma Hayes (centre) leaves
Lauren James (centre) was also on the scoresheet during Blues’ 3-0 win over Ajax
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They showed early on that they would cause Chelsea problems when Romee Leuchter sent a shot onto the post from close range.
But the Blues got into the game and in the 19th minute they found the opener. Ajax failed to clear the lines and the ball bounced into the path of James, who rounded goalkeeper Regina van Eijk and ended up in an empty net.
Ajax’s defenders had assumed James was offside and the nonchalant way the Chelsea forward took advantage of her chance suggested she might have done the same. The assistant referee’s flag was raised for offside as soon as the ball hit the net, but replays showed it was James’ turn. A lengthy VAR check followed before the goal was awarded.
Ajax showed early signs of promise when Romee Leuchter hit the post from close range
However, it was Chelsea who prospered, but Hayes will not allow her players to take center stage
A crucial second goal came just before half-time, but there was controversy just before that. Guro Reiten thought she had scored when she sent in James’ cross, but the VAR ruled that Nusken intervened from an offside position. It was a strange decision that seemed to anger Chelsea’s players as they immediately found the net again. James placed Reiten on the left and her cross found Nusken, who completed a great team move.
Chelsea had several chances to extend their lead further in the second half, with Nusken, Erin Cuthbert and Reiten all going close.
The third goal finally came in the 83rd minute when Nusken met Catarina Macario’s cross and fired a header into the top left corner.