Hamano's audacious lob puts Chelsea in charge on Dutch soil
The Guardian|October 18, 2024
Goals from young forwards Aggie Beever-Jones and Maika Hamano showed just how bright Chelsea's future is as they continued their winning start to the season under new manager Sonia Bompastor with a 3-1 defeat of FC Twente.
Suzanne Wrack
Hamano's audacious lob puts Chelsea in charge on Dutch soil

The win puts the Blues top of Group B in the Champions League, three points clear of their opponents Twente and second-placed Real Madrid, while Celtic bring up the rear in their maiden European adventure.

As in the 3-2 defeat of Real Madrid last week there will be concerns about Chelsea's vulnerability at the back, but as long as they keep winning, they have time to iron out those issues.

Few managers can field a starting XI with eight changes in it and expect the fluidity between players to be maintained, but Chelsea's squad is a different beast. During Emma Hayes' tenure they mastered the art of maintaining their competitive edge when the squad was going through changes, and that legacy remains. Hayes worked hard to get minutes into the legs of young players like Hamano and Beever-Jones last season with the aim of delivering first-team ready players to her successor.

This story is from the October 18, 2024 edition of The Guardian.

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This story is from the October 18, 2024 edition of The Guardian.

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