Chelsea Women face Leicester City at Kingsmeadow this weekend, knowing they have to keep up the pressure on Arsenal and Spurs, each boasting perfect records so far this season.
Last weekend’s 3-1 victory over Hope Powell’s well-organised Brighton was a significant win for the Blues. The Seagulls are good enough to beat any team on the day, and may yet have a big say in the final placings.
Although there’s a long, long way to go in this Women’s Super League, every point will be critical at the final reckoning.
Chelsea don’t host Arsenal at Kingsmeadow until February (a week after they host Man City), and manager Emma Hayes wants to be sure her team are still in contention at that point.
She rarely singles out individuals for praise after a match, preferring to talk of collective success or failure. But she rightly made an exception for Guro Reiten, now playing some of her finest football after the win against Brighton.
Guro, who turned 27 in the summer, has evolved into the best winger in the WSL, taking ownership of Chelsea’s left flank and motoring up and down it from first to last like a Duracell bunny.
"She’s exceptional," said Hayes. "She's really taken to the wingback role, and she's improving in all areas of her game. Going forward, there aren't too many left-footed players that have the ability to pick passes out like she does."
Reiten also scored Chelsea’s first goal in that 3-1 victory – a scorcher that keeper Megan Walsh couldn’t contain.
The Norwegian doesn’t simply accelerate when she gets the ball... she steals into top gear then vanishes into the distance like a silent, speeding Tesla.
She has a unique style of lowering a shoulder, hunkering down and then sprinting away before the nearest defender twigs that she’s even on the move.
A minute after her goal against the Seagulls she was at it again, haring away to chase down a ball that others might have thought lost, and supplying a cross to give Kirby a headed chance.
Hope Powell’s assessment of Chelsea? “They have a squad of international players, and every one we come up against is a big challenge for us."
Chelsea v Leicester City Women kicks off at 12.30pm on Sunday at Kingsmeadow.
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and unless specifically stated are not necessarily those of Hammersmith & Fulham Council.
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