Alyssa Thompson celebrtes with Sandy Baltimore after scoring for Chelsea against Paris FCGetty Images

Alyssa Thompson (right) joined Chelsea from Angel City for a club record fee of just under £1m last month

At a glance

  • Alyssa Thompson scores her first Chelsea goal and registers an assist in dominant win over Paris FC

  • Sandy Baltimore, Erin Cuthbert and Johanna Rytting Kaneryd also score at Stamford Bridge

  • Chelsea are yet to lose a game in any competition this season

  • PLAYER RATER

Adam Millington
BBC Sport journalist

Club record signing Alyssa Thompson scored her first goal as a dominant Chelsea emphatically beat Paris FC in the Women's Champions League league phase.

The Blues had begun their European campaign with a frustrating 1-1 draw at FC Twente last week which meant they were already trailing other European heavyweights in the standings heading into the second round of games.

The visitors set up with a compact defence and frustrated Chelsea as they struggled to create chances in the box, but Sonia Bompastor's side were gifted the opener when Sjoeke Nusken was judged to have been fouled in the area after a video assistant referee (VAR) check and Sandy Baltimore rifled home from the spot.

Paris attempted to battle back but were shaky - Erin Cuthbert snatched possession in midfield and fed Thompson out wide, who found Johanna Rytting Kaneryd in the area to head past Mylene Chavas.

Chelsea's dominance produced a string of promising chances, with Aggie Beever-Jones nearly adding a third when she struck the underside of the bar shortly before half-time.

It took less than 90 seconds from the restart for 20-year-old United States forward Thompson to inflict further damage on Paris, prodding home a drilled Keira Walsh pass at the back post.

Paris never looked like finding a path back into the game and Chelsea further extended their lead when the visitors failed to clear after substitute Sam Kerr headed a Baltimore corner towards goal, allowing Cuthbert to tap in on the line.

The attempts continued to flow for the hosts and Guro Reiten rattled an effort off the bar, but they were unable to increase their goal tally.

Victory means Chelsea have four points from their opening two matches in Europe and are unbeaten in all competitions after eight games this season.

Analysis: Thompson shines as Chelsea outsmart low block

Following an unconvincing run of fixtures for Chelsea, with back-to-back draws before Sunday's narrow victory over Tottenham, this was exactly the display Bompastor would have wished for.

While opposition low blocks have often stymied the final-third spaces in which Chelsea would usually flourish, they remained resolute in their attacking efforts and seized chances once the momentum shifted.

Thompson stole the show before being brought off in the 56th minute as her blistering pace proved too much for the visitors to handle.

Impressive, too, was the quality of her display when she evidently is yet to have fully adjusted to her new surroundings.

At times, a lack of connection was apparent as runs were misjudged or team-mates failed to switch on to her movement, but even an imperfect Thompson was enough to significantly trouble Paris.

The change with which Thompson departed highlighted another element crucial to Chelsea being able to deal with dogged defences - she was one of three who went off as Kerr, Reiten and Maika Hamano came on, all substantial attacking threats.

Bompastor later brought on England full-back Lucy Bronze, who had a cameo at the weekend in her first game since the Euro 2025 final and revealing she had played the entire tournament with a broken leg.

Bronze is just one important player who is returning to fitness. Lauren James is still sidelined following an ankle injury at the Euros and her strengths could have helped Chelsea to do even better against the compact backline as - before Paris' collapse - the Blues missed her ability to pick passes and weave through defences.

Another commanding victory shows how Bompastor has shaped a relentless side who can grind out games in Europe.

What's next for these sides?

Chelsea host London City Lionesses in the Women's Super League (WSL) on Saturday, 1 November (12:00 GMT), in their first game after the international break.

Paris travel to Real Madrid on 11 November (20:00) in their next Women's Champions League match.

Player of the match

G. Reiten
8.03
11 G. Reiten
8.03
12 A. Thompson
7.92
19 J. Rytting Kaneryd
7.90
8 E. Cuthbert
7.89
22 L. Bronze
7.73
33 A. Beever-Jones
7.57
24 H. Hampton
7.21
17 S. Baltimore
7.18
18 W. Kaptein
7.15
4 M. Bright
7.14
14 N. Björn
7.12
6 S. Nüsken
7.03
23 M. Hamano
6.83
30 K. Walsh
6.77
32 L. Potter
6.58
20 S. Kerr
6.50
Back to team tabs

After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users.

A graphic that reads 'Follow our women's football TikTok' with a picture of a mobile phone

Head here to get involved

Related topics

More on this story