Chelsea 3-1 West Ham: Emma Hayes’ Blues recover from early scare to record back-to-back WSL wins

Chelsea found their groove after an early scare to see off West Ham 3-1 and move into the top four of the WSL.

With their opening day defeat to Liverpool, Chelsea’s season got off to the worst possible start, but they have recovered with back-to-back league wins to surge back up the table.

On a chilly evening in Kingston-upon-Thames, the Kingsmeadow crowd were silenced in just the third minute as Dagny Brynjarsdottir headed home powerfully from a corner.

Emma Hayes’ Blues took some time to find their composure, but they did begin to mount some attacking forays, and Sam Kerr hit the post twice as the Hammers goal lived dangerously.

Chelsea continued to push and they got a crucial leveller before half-time thanks to Fran Kirby’s chipped finish.

That would have been the perfect tonic for the hosts’ confidence, and they started the second half on the front foot, taking the lead through Sam Kerr’s finish inside the six-yard box on 58 minutes.

West Ham’s resistance looked to be broken, and Millie Bright further extended her side’s advantage just four minutes later, heading home from a corner.

It could have been four for the hosts late on, but Lauren James saw her tame spot-kick saved by Mackenzie Arnold in the Hammers’ goal.

Speaking afterwards, Hayes said: “The side showed a great reaction to conceding an early goal and the scoreline could have been bigger. I feel we’re improving and progressed from the Man City game – we grew in confidence.

“It’s so tough for new signings to learn quickly but I’m really happy for [Katerina] Svitkova and [Eve] Perisset who made their full debuts tonight.

“I can’t fault the application of players – it’s such a nice dressing room that’s growing in confidence. The team are where they should be after three games but there’s still some rust.”

With the international break ahead, Chelsea are now not in league action again until October 16, when they travel to Everton.