Key events
That is all from me today. Thanks for tuning in and join us tomorrow for live updates from more Women’s Champions League action as Arsenal head to Bayern Munich before Manchester United host Paris Saint-Germain.
Sophie Downey was at the NV Arena and here is her verdict:
Bompastor had called for patience from her side as the faced an organised defensive block but their superiority in all areas eventually paid off.
The Blues were particularly dangerous down the right with the link-up between Ellie Carpenter and Johanna Rytting Kaneryd proving effective. It was from this area that the breakthrough came as the former cut a low ball across goal for Kaptein to turn home.
The visitors continued their pressure but were made to work for their second goal. Kerr somehow could not poke the ball over the line while Girma had a comical finish disallowed for offside.
They eventually got their reward just before the break when Rytting Kaneryd turned over possession and found Macario in the box. The American placed a low shot past Carina Schlüter into the far corner to double the score.
Read her full match report below.
Sam Kerr scored a brace on her first start for Chelsea since her injury.
She speaks to Disney+:
It was good. I felt like I had to work myself into it. They did a good job of defending to be fair, they collapsed in the midfield. Luckily the ball fell to me and I have good teammates around me.
I prefer to play more. When you come on with 20 minutes to go it can be hectic. I feel 100% but I was out for a while so I have to build myself up. Today was a good step. Being with the national team was a good step. I am definitely fit enough but it is about getting the miles in my legs.
Carina Schlüter may have conceded half a dozen goals but she made 14 saves and really kept her side from being absolutely humiliated. The streak for St Pölten continues, with the Austrian side yet to win or score a goal in the Champions League this season.
She speaks to Disney+:
Losing always hurts, of course I had saves but that is my job. We were the underdogs but it hurts to lose 6-0.
We wanted to keep the clean sheet as long as possible. We did well in the first minutes but we have to believe in our strengths.
The most important thing is to keep the ball safe in my hands so that I don’t have my teammates worrying. It’s all about communication.
[Her supporters] are positively crazy. I study medicine while playing Champions League and they are my fellow students and they are incredible. I love them very much. It means the world to me [to study and play football]. I can combine my two dreams. I am lucky and happy to have such amazing people around me.
Full-time: St Pölten 0-6 Chelsea
A game of pass, pass, pass, shoot, shoot, shoot for Chelsea, who came to the NV Arena with a plan to get the win and up their goal difference. Sonia Bompastor’s side had 40 attempts on goal and the manager will be happy her players became more clinical in the second half.
90+4: Nüsken win the ball and then tries to whip the ball towards the near post but Schlüter makes the save. That is Chelsea’s 40th attempt on goal.
GOAL! 0-6 Chelsea (Kerr 90+2)
A good header from Kerr after Charles cross into the box. The forward did not have a defender on her, which is poor from the clearly tiring visitors. The camera pans to the St Pölten bench who watch on with disappointment.
90 min: There will be at least four minutes of added time. Potter has another effort that is saved by Schlüter.
GOAL! St Pölten 0-5 Chelsea (Ebert 86og)
Barely a celebration from Chelsea as they find their fifth. James has a go from distance and Ebert’s cruel deflection wrongfoots her own keeper and the ball is in the back of the net.
84 min: I hate to say it but it has really become a training session for Chelsea at this point. Micario has another chance but she misses the target.
82 min: Macario hits the post from a curling free-kick after Rukavina fouls Potter.
81 min: Carpenter and Potter have back-to-back shots that are off target before St Pölten make a change. Brunold, the side’s top scorer, makes way for Seiro. A tough night for the forward who worked hard to drop deep but had so little service.
75 min: Suddenly things are looking even brighter for Chelsea. Kerr’s goal comes moments before James comes on for Kaptein, the forward making her first minutes since the Euro 2025 final, where she was forced off in the first half due to injury.
GOAL! St Pölten 0-4 Chelsea (Kerr 75)
She is back on the scoresheet for the first time in Europe since 20 December 2023. It is a trademark finish from Kerr who turns in the box, sorts the ball under her feet and pokes it past.
72 min: The hosts make two more changes as Elmore and Peneau come off for Vracevic and Aistleitner.
71 min: Another excellent save from Schlüter, this time to deny Baltimore’s powerful shot. From the corner, Charles’s header goes over the bar.
69 min: St Pölten manage to block a pass but they don’t have an outlet. The ball simply dribbles past a few Chelsea shirts and the visitors recycle the ball once again.
67 min: Nüsken is there at the near post after a lovely pass from Charles but her shot hits Schlüter’s midriff on its way out. That is her ninth save of the evening. Incredible despite her side being 3-0 down.
63 min: Is that goal going to come tonight for Kerr? From a corner, the ball lands at Kerr’s feet. She takes a touch before her looping shot goes over the bar. That was Chelsea’s 23rd attempt on goal, compared to St Pölten’s one.
59 min: Chelsea make a triple change as Walsh, Rytting Kaneryd and Thompson make way for Potter, Nüsken and Charles.
St Pölten follow suit as Krizaj and Ollivier come off for Rukavina and Woelki.
58 min: Chelsea have the ball in the back of the net again but it won’t count. A deft little clip from Kerr finds Thompson who barges it in but the Australian is offside.
55 min: It is a shame because the penalty came from St Pölten finally going forward. But they lack the cutting edge, which means Chelsea exploit the gaps that have been made.
GOAL! St Pölten 0-3 Chelsea (Macario 53pen)
Cool, calm finish to the left hand of Schlüter, who dives the wrong way. If they were not already, Chelsea are well underway to securing the three points.
PENALTY FOR CHELSEA!
Thompson runs into the box and Krizaj commits an obvious foul in the box. The referee points to the spot relatively quickly and there are no complaints.
50 min: Gutman does well to evade a couple Chelsea shirts but Klein then needlessly gives the ball away.
48 min: Huge save from Schlüter to deny Macario’s volley from close range!
47 min: Klein bloks a Kerr shot and Baltimore takes the resulting corner. She goes short but Chelsea are forced to go backwards as St Pölten become a bit more adventurous in their press.
We are back underway. Chelsea make one change as Buurman, the Dutch teenager, comes on for Girma.
Half-time: St Pölten 0-2 Chelsea
Easy work for Chelsea who seem to be on cruise control in Austria against a side who have yet to score, let alone win, in this competition this season.
If Sonia Bompastor was being extra critical, she would be disappointed her side are not more than two goals ahead. Let’s see if she makes changes at half-time.
45+2 min: Rytting Kaneryd surely almost scores Chelsea’s third … but Schlüter closes out the tight angle and makes the save. Moments later, Nagy gets in the book for a reckless foul on Walsh.
45+1 min: Brunold has a go for St Pölten, their first of the game, but she is a bit too far out and Peng makes the save.
GOAL! St Pölten 0-2 Chelsea (Micario 44)
Chelsea get their second goal right before half-time! Rytting Kaneryd wins it back and plays a pass to her Micario, who goes for placement over power as her low shot arrows into the bottom right corner.
42 min: Kerr again just misses the target as her header goes over the bar.
39 min: Micario whips it towards goal but it is a comfortable enough save Schlüter. That is Chelsea’s 12th attempt on goal compared to St Pölten’s zero.
38 min: A late challenge from Krizaj and she catches Girma right outside the box on the left. She is booked as Micario and Baltimore stand over the freekick.
34 min: From a free-kick, the ball heads to Kerr, who heads it across goal for Girma. The Chelsea defender heads it, it hits the woodwork, bounces off a St Pölten player and back off Girma’s face before going in. The American is almost sheepish as she celebrates the awkward finish but Chelsea have a two-goal lead.
But hold on … VAR are quite delayed but Kerr is adjudged to be an offside position and the replay makes it obvious. The goal is chalked off.
30 min: St Pölten have the chance to press but only three players spring forward and the rest remain in their block as Carpenter and Girma get the ball out of their half with relative ease.
29 min: Chelsea win their first corner. Baltimore takes it and Klein almost scored an own goal before Macario’s shot is blocked and Kaptein fouls Brunold in the box.
27 min: A barrage of attacks from Chelsea continues and Kerr has her third glimpse of goal but Schlüter makes the save. St Pölten’s possession that follows is short-lived.
25 min: Baltimore puts in a dangerous cross from the left but Kerr’s header is wide.
21 min: Anita Asante is on commentary discussing how many goals Chelsea will want to score today. She settles on four and points out the visitors will know goal difference will come into play. Atlético Madrid scored six past them in their first match, Lyon scored three in their second.
19 min: St Pölten on the attack! A nice one-two but Elmore is shrugged off the ball by Girma far too easily.
17 min: Chelsea pass the ball around St Pölten’s box for quite a while before Walsh has a shot but it is an easy catch Schlüter.
15 min: The St Pölten fans have been lively despite how much their team is struggling and after Kaptein’s goal the drum has come out. Can’t fault their spirit.
GOAL! St Pölten 0-1 Chelsea (Kaptein 13)
It had been coming. Macario finds Carpenter on the right and her cutback finds Kaptein, who wrongfoots Schlüter, before slotting it home.
10 min: Huge chance for Chelsea! A great ball is threaded to Rytting Kaneryd, who bursts down the right before a cutback for Kerr. The forward can’t quite connect with it properly and her shot is blocked. The scramble in the box continues as St Pölten try to get as many bodies behind the ball and they eventually clear.
7 min: St Pölten finally have some possession and Peneau opts to go long to relieve some pressure, aiming for Elmore, but Girma is there to prevent a threatening counterattack.
6 min: Thompson picks up the ball after it is given away cheaply and Micario then has her shot blocked.
4 min: Carpenter’s low cross heads towards goal but Schlüter covers the tight angle and a few cheers from the supporters ring out.
Micario then attempts a similar ball and Klein flicks the ball away. It goes up and over her but hits the crossbar.
3 min: Ollivier tries to get past Bronze, who is at centre-back, but instead commits a foul.
1 min: An early tame shot from Kaptein that Schlüter easily collects. St Pölten immediately set up in two banks of five out of possession.
Kick-off: St Pölten 0-0 Chelsea
Here we go! Chelsea get us underway in the cream shirts and green shorts while the hosts don their all-blue kit.
The Champions League anthem has been played out and the players are doing their final warmups. We are moments away from the start here in Austria.
The pre-match postbag is here. Peter gets in touch:
The population of Sankt Pölten – 60,000 – is less than one-third of Hammersmith and Fulham’s. The London giants are the overwhelming favourites but the Wölfinnen (She-Wolves) aren’t gonna go down without a howling fight.
St Pölten’s head coach, Laurent Fassotte, was appointed on 23 October, replacing Lisa Alzner, and this match against Chelsea will only be his third in charge. St Pölten have won the Austrian title 10 times in the last decade but are on a dip of form, having lost a match in the Austrian Cup on Saturday – their first defeat in the competition since March 2012. Here is what he said in his pre-match press conference.
On Chelsea:
We know that Chelsea are a very experienced team with speed, pace and individual quality. It will be a difficult task, but we will fight for 90 minutes.
We have to stay focused and concentrate fully on our task throughout the entire match. Our players need to enjoy these moments when they compete against teams of this calibre.
Here is what Sonia Bompastor said in her pre-match press conference.
On the possibility of starting a weaker side:
We’re a team that create a lot of opportunities. We can move the ball high up the pitch so then it’s down to finishing them. The players should be confident; they just need to avoid overthinking.
On Peng starting after Hampton picked up an injury against Arsenal:
She hasn’t had a lot of minutes, but she played well in the first game against Twente and she is performing well in every training session.
It is a positive for her to play in the game and we are confident in her. She has a lot of quality and she will be playing. That is what we’re focused on.
And on St Pölten:
They are a well-organised defensive unit, very compact. They don’t allow you much space on the pitch and they are aggressive out of possession, so it’s always difficult to break their lines, to break their block. An early goal would be great; if not, we must stay patient.
Here is a reminder as how Chelsea have fared in the Champions League so far this season.
Sophie Downey’s verdict at Stamford Bridge after four different goalscorers made their mark against Paris FC.
And Suzanne Wrack on their less than ideal start back at the start of October.
Team news
St Pölten (5-4-1): Schlüter; Krizaj, Nagy, Ebert, Klein, Ollivier; Elmore, Peneau, Laino, Gutmann; Brunold.
Subs: Hermsmeier, Vracevic, Aistleitner, Rukavina, Seiro, Woelki, Matavkova.
Chelsea (4-3-3): Peng; Carpenter, Bronze, Girma, Baltimore; Kaptein, Walsh, Macario; Rytting Kaneryd, Thompson, Kerr.
Subs: Spencer, Bright, Buurman, Nüsken, Cuthbert, James, Björn, Charles, Hamano, Jean-François, Potter.
An expected weakened side for the visitors. It will be interesting to see how the midfield three of Wieke Kaptein, Keira Walsh and Catarina Macario operate.
Sam Kerr gets her first start for Chelsea since her injury in 2023 while Naomi Girma will get her first minutes of the season. Lauren James is also back in the squad after returning to training this week and makes the bench.
Referee: Franziska Wildfeuer (Germany)
Preamble
Chelsea are back in Women’s Champions League action and will be hoping to continue their strong run of form against St Pölten, the Austrian side yet to pick up a point in the competition.
Sonia Bompastor’s side started the league phase with a disappointing draw against Twente but made up for it with a 4-0 hammering of Paris FC a month ago.
The WSL champions will hope this is the year they finally end their wait for European glory and they will surely be aiming for one of the four automatic qualification spots for the quarter-final to make that goal easier. As it stands, Chelsea are in a knockout phase playoff position with two points separating them from the top four.
Kick-off is scheduled for 8pm GMT at the NV Arena. Join me for all the updates, and as always, feel free to get in touch with your thoughts, questions and predictions via email.
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