Mayra Ramírez shows her class to score Chelsea’s third goal from 40 yards.Photograph: Matthew Childs/Action Images/Reuters
Chelsea cruised to a 14th straight victory in all competitions with a crushing win over Twente in the Women’s Champions League. There were six different home goalscorers at Stamford Bridge as Catarina Macario, Oriane Jean-François, Mayra Ramírez, Erin Cuthbert, Sjoeke Nüsken and Eve Périsset ensured the Blues remained ahead of Real Madrid in Group B with one game to play.
Related:Celtic 0-3 Real Madrid, Chelsea 6-1 Twente: Women’s Champions League – live
With qualification to the quarter-finals already secured thanks to victory over Celtic last time out, Chelsea knew another win would go some way to helping them secure top spot.
Sonia Bompastor’s team have been in sensational form since the beginning of the season and they returned to Stamford Bridge looking to keep up their 100% record.
The Chelsea manager has spoken about the value of having a deep squad and she opted to ring the changes once more. Just four players remained from Sunday’s 4-2 league victory over Brighton as Niamh Charles made her first start of the season since dislocating her shoulder. Millie Bright was one of those who retained her spot, the captain having celebrated her 10th anniversary at the club on Tuesday.
Twente were clear underdogs, having been eliminated and a sole victory over Celtic keeping them off the bottom.
Joran Pot’s team are a young group – Van Dooren is the Dutch side’s oldest player at 25 – and at a very different stage of their journey. There was just one change to the side that defeated Heerenveen 4-0 in the Eredivisie on Saturday, with Charlotte Hulst replacing Amanda Andradóttir.
It took just two minutes for Chelsea to take the lead as their attacking press put the Twente defence under immediate pressure. The initial break from Ramírez and Macario looked to have fizzled out until the latter produced a sweetly struck lob that dipped over Olivia Clark in the visitors’ goal.
The hosts dominated the first half-hour as they controlled possession and created opportunities. A failure to put them away, however, gave Twente a lifeline when Maika Hamano pulled Hulst to the ground in the box.
Van Dooren’s clinical penalty drew the visitors back into the match for about a minute, however, as the Blues responded immediately when Jean-François drifted past several defenders to score her first goal for the club.
It was the impetus Chelsea needed as they upped their level once again and continued to torment the visitors’ defence. Ramírez added a third with a spectacular 40-yard effort before Cuthbert also got her name on the scoresheet on her 50th WCL appearance to make it comfortable at the break.
Changes at the break did little to alter proceedings, the fresh legs only giving Chelsea more energy. Nüsken, on for Nathalie Björn, added another within two minutes of entering the field as the Blues’ domination continued.
A late strike from Périsset rounded off a comfortable night for Chelsea. With Real Madrid beating Celtic, the winner of Group B will be decided when the two come head-to-head at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stéfano on Tuesday.