Chelsea’s dominant victory over Paris FC was lit up by the newest member of their attack, Alyssa Thompson, who traversed the Stamford Bridge pitch with agile runs and eventually got the rewards her efforts deserved.
Thompson may be just 20 years old, but her arrival at Chelsea was accompanied by lofty expectations arising from the club record price tag. Now, in her seventh appearance, she has finally got off the mark.
She darted down the wings and led her side’s counter-attacks, showing expert positioning to put herself in the right place to be able to set up Johanna Rytting Kaneryd’s goal, and tapped home an excellent Keira Walsh delivery to get her first goal for the club.
It was an impressive display, but, says manager Sonia Bompastor, the best of her is still to come.
“A young player, a lot of talent, but I think we haven’t seen yet the best of her, but hopefully we will see that soon,” said Bompastor.
“She is coming from abroad, she speaks the language, which helps, but again, it’s a new environment, a new club, she needs to learn to connect with new players on the pitch, new team-mates, so hopefully, even sooner, we will see an even better version.”
Thompson’s first goal is one which will put her at “ease”, says Brighton forward Fran Kirby, who previously spent nine years at Chelsea.
Former Scotland captain Rachel Corsie added that now Thompson has scored, she imagines the “floodgates will open”.
“She’s been a real bright spark,” Kirby said on BBC Radio 5 Live. “I think against Tottenham she looked really sharp, it was probably that final product.
Of her six appearances in all competitions for Bompastor’s side before Wednesday, half had come as a substitute.
While she had not previously been involved in any goals, Thompson had already displayed her talents by creating chances, coming close to scoring herself, and drawing a red card after West Ham defender Ines Belloumou pulled her hair during her first start.
Corsie said Thompson played as if she “was not feeling” any pressure against Paris and was “very lively”.
“She’s willing to learn. I think she’s done an exceptional job to get in the team and play as many minutes as she has.
“There is an adjustment when you move, and when you move for that amount of money, there’s an expectation you’ll hit the ground running.”
Thompson, meanwhile, said she feels she is starting to build “rhythm” with her new club.
‘Players needed time to recover from Euros’
While Chelsea are unbeaten, much of their start to the season has been somewhat unconvincing.
They were held to a draw by Twente in their opening Champions League match last week, drew with Manchester United in the league and other victories – including their 1-0 success against Tottenham at the weekend – have come by slender margins.
Thompson said they played “more as a team than individuals” in their dominant Champions League victory.
“After the last few games we really came together and wanted to celebrate each other more and be more positive on the field and have more togetherness,” she added.
“Now we are working more as a team rather than individuals and we are going to continue that going forward, and carrying a positive vibe through. “
Asked about her side’s recent dip in form, Bompastor attributed some of it to the lack of time her players have had to recover since Euro 2025.
There were just 40 days between the final and the opening match of the Women’s Super League season.
She said they way they have performed over their last two games, following back-to-back draws, is a “perfect way to finish” before the international break.
“I have a lot of players who went so far in the tournament, in the Euros, so mentally and physically, when you come back to the club, it doesn’t come just like this. You also need time for them to recover from that tournament.
‘We are building better performances’
A key part of Chelsea’s success against Paris was the magnitude of their victory, with it being the second time this season they have scored four or more goals.
In each of their previous three games going into the match against the French side, they had been unable to score more than one.
Midfielder Erin Cuthbert, who netted against Paris, said they had been told to “finish their chances” going into Wednesday’s match.
Captain Millie Bright added that she felt Chelsea “got their mojo back” in their performance against Paris.
“At the weekend we didn’t really finish our chances,” Cuthbert told Disney+. “We had a lot of chances on goal and did not finish them. Even tonight there were times where we could be more clinical but we are definitely building better performances the last week or so.
“I think for us it is just about building. It’s the group stages, it’s still early on. We had a really disappointing result matchday one but we want more and we need to do more.”
Corsie, speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, said she felt Chelsea played as if they wanted to prove a point to their doubters.
“It was the sort of display that was indicative of a team that feels a few people have been criticising their performances, and I think they wanted to set that straight. Four brilliant goals, four brilliant scorers,” she said.
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