Chelsea cruised into the next round of the Adobe Women’s FA Cup with a commanding 5–0 victory over WSL2 side Crystal Palace at Kingsmeadow.
From the first whistle, the hosts asserted their dominance. Chelsea took the lead early when captain Millie Bright powered home a header, setting the tone for the afternoon. The advantage was quickly doubled as Sam Kerr found the back of the net for her first goal of the match.
Just minutes later, Chelsea were awarded a penalty after a foul in the box. Guro Reiten stepped up confidently and converted, putting the Blues 3–0 ahead before the half-hour mark.
After the break, Chelsea showed no signs of slowing down. Kerr added her second goal of the game to make it 4–0, further underlining the home side’s control. Despite relentless pressure throughout the match, Crystal Palace struggled to contain Chelsea’s attacking threat.
The scoring was rounded off in the 72nd minute when Alyssa Thompson capped off a hard-working performance with a well-taken goal.
The match finished 5–0 to Chelsea, keeping their hopes of retaining the FA Cup very much alive.
Chelsea: Hampton, Girma (Bronze h/t), Bright (c), Buurman, Rytting Kaneryd, Cuthbert (Sarwie 71), Kaptein 🟨 (Potter 61), Reiten, James (Nusken h/t), Kerr (Carpenter 61), Thompson
Unused subs: Peng, Spencer, Shooter, Baltimore
Scorers: Bright 13, Kerr 22, 51, Reiten 29, Thompson 70
Booked: Kaptein 39
Crystal Palace: Yanez, Napier, Arthur (Howat 62), Cato, Everett (c), Sharpe (Riley 78), Weerden, Nolan, Ladd, Blanchard, Larkin (Brady 78)
Unused subs: Annets, Browne, Sibley, Hughes, Vanhaevermaet
Referee: Stacey Fullicks
