FA Cup cruise for Chelsea! Sam Kerr bags a brace as holders run riot in crushing victory over Crystal Palace
Defending champions Chelsea opened up their Women’s FA Cup campaign with a comprehensive 5-0 victory over Crystal Palace on Saturday. The free-scoring Blues booked their place in the fifth round thanks to a brace from Sam Kerr and goals from Millie Bright, Guro Reiten and Alyssa Thompson, with Sonia Bompastor's side a class above their WSL 2 opponents at Kingsmeadow.Looking to build on an impressive scoring streak which saw Chelsea net 25 goals in their five games beforehand, the holders took the lead after just 13 minutes when captain Bright headed home from Erin Cuthbert’s lovely free-kick. And Scotland international Cuthbert soon recorded her second assist of the afternoon as she teed up Australia forward Kerr, who doubled her side’s advantage with a cool finish beyond Palace goalkeeper Shae Yanez. Rounding off a ruthless opening half-hour in Surrey, Chelsea were soon three goals to the good when Reiten won and then converted a penalty after she was brought down by defender Jamie-Lee Napier inside the box.While Palace have performed admirably in cup competitions this season, Jo Potter’s side - who were narrowly beaten by Arsenal in the quarter-finals of the League Cup - quickly found themselves 4-0 down when Kerr scored her second with a superb header after the interval. The visitors came close to pulling a goal back when Ashleigh Weerden - one of the Eagles' best players this season - tried to pick out the bottom left corner, only to be thwarted by Chelsea goalkeeper Hannah Hampton.With Chelsea home and hosed, manager Bompastor soon turned to Lexi Potter, with the 19-year-old midfielder emerging from the bench to face a Palace side who she spent two seasons on loan with between 2023 and 2025. The hosts then made it five when in-form forward Thompson scored her third goal in her last five appearances from close range, before another youngster - 17-year-old Chloe Sarwie - was given a chance to impress.USWNT ace Thompson went close to scoring a second deep into injury time as Chelsea - who have won the FA Cup in four of the last five seasons - saw out a victory which suggests they will go close to lifting the trophy once again this season.A tough choice considering several Chelsea players performed well, particularly Reiten and Cuthbert, but it was Kerr’s brace which did the damage for Bompastor’s side. The forward scored either side of half-time as Palace’s backline struggled to live with her movement, before she was replaced on the hour mark.While it was always going to be an uphill battle for Palace to compete with Chelsea, Napier endured a difficult outing for the visitors. The 25-year-old conceded a first-half spot-kick after fouling Reiten inside the penalty area, and she continued to struggle up against the electric Norway international all afternoon.Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting
Defending champions Chelsea opened up their Women’s FA Cup campaign with a comprehensive 5-0 victory over Crystal Palace on Saturday. The free-scoring Blues booked their place in the fifth round thanks to a brace from Sam Kerr and goals from Millie Bright, Guro Reiten and Alyssa Thompson, with Sonia Bompastor's side a class above their WSL 2 opponents at Kingsmeadow.Looking to build on an impressive scoring streak which saw Chelsea net 25 goals in their five games beforehand, the holders took the lead after just 13 minutes when captain Bright headed home from Erin Cuthbert’s lovely free-kick. And Scotland international Cuthbert soon recorded her second assist of the afternoon as she teed up Australia forward Kerr, who doubled her side’s advantage with a cool finish beyond Palace goalkeeper Shae Yanez. Rounding off a ruthless opening half-hour in Surrey, Chelsea were soon three goals to the good when Reiten won and then converted a penalty after she was brought down by defender Jamie-Lee Napier inside the box.While Palace have performed admirably in cup competitions this season, Jo Potter’s side - who were narrowly beaten by Arsenal in the quarter-finals of the League Cup - quickly found themselves 4-0 down when Kerr scored her second with a superb header after the interval. The visitors came close to pulling a goal back when Ashleigh Weerden - one of the Eagles' best players this season - tried to pick out the bottom left corner, only to be thwarted by Chelsea goalkeeper Hannah Hampton.With Chelsea home and hosed, manager Bompastor soon turned to Lexi Potter, with the 19-year-old midfielder emerging from the bench to face a Palace side who she spent two seasons on loan with between 2023 and 2025. The hosts then made it five when in-form forward Thompson scored her third goal in her last five appearances from close range, before another youngster - 17-year-old Chloe Sarwie - was given a chance to impress.USWNT ace Thompson went close to scoring a second deep into injury time as Chelsea - who have won the FA Cup in four of the last five seasons - saw out a victory which suggests they will go close to lifting the trophy once again this season.A tough choice considering several Chelsea players performed well, particularly Reiten and Cuthbert, but it was Kerr’s brace which did the damage for Bompastor’s side. The forward scored either side of half-time as Palace’s backline struggled to live with her movement, before she was replaced on the hour mark.While it was always going to be an uphill battle for Palace to compete with Chelsea, Napier endured a difficult outing for the visitors. The 25-year-old conceded a first-half spot-kick after fouling Reiten inside the penalty area, and she continued to struggle up against the electric Norway international all afternoon.Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting
