Kerr scores twice as Chelsea Women thrash Everton

Sam Kerr bagged a brace as reigning WSL champions Chelsea defeated a lacklustre Everton 4-0 in a dominant display at Kingsmeadow.

Kerr was joined on the teamsheet by England’s Fran Kirby and Beth England in a comfortable win for the Blues.

It was another tough day at the office for Willie Kirk and his team as the visitors failed to seriously test Chelsea stopper Ann-Katrin Berger.

It was an impressive display by Emma Hayes’s side as they bounced back in style from their disappointing opening day defeat to Arsenal.

Chelsea started the game firmly on the front foot and could have gone ahead just seven minutes in when captain Magdalena Eriksson headed an Erin Cuthbert corner just wide.

The Blues’ dominance paid off in the 25th when Kirby curled in a sublime shot high to Sandy MacIver’s right to finish a magnificent passage of play by the home side.

Everton made a disastrous start to the second half as Megan Finnigan’s misplaced back pass fell kindly to last season’s top scorer Kerr, who rolled calmly into an empty net.

The Australian put the game to bed in the 74th minute with a bullet header after getting on the end of an inviting cross by Norwegian international Guro Reiten.

Cuthbert was denied the moment of the match when her venomous half volley rattled the crossbar, with England tapping home the rebound to cap off a relentless performance by Chelsea.

Hayes said: “1-0 wasn’t a fair reflection of the game in the first half and we should’ve been more clinical throughout the game.

“For the amount of shots we had it shouldn’t have been 4-0. I’m happier with the clean sheet.”

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