It had been 21 days since Chelsea scored nine past Liverpool in the Women's League Cup quarter-final before the WSL took its traditional winter break, but their start to 2026 couldn't have got off to a better start.

The Blues had the lead within 60 seconds of the kick-off as West Ham's Yu Endo could only turn in Ellie Carpenter's dangerous ball hit across the goal line. Just when it looked like the visitors were beginning to settle into the match, the ruthless Blues struck again, this time through a close-range effort from Lauren James.

Alyssa Thompson popped up at the back post to net our third from a Johanna Rytting Kaneryd shot that looked to be heading wide, and we had our fourth before the break when Sandy Baltimore curled in a wonderful finish from inside the penalty area.

The French international bagged her second, and our fifth, when she stepped up to take a penalty in the second half, completing a ruthless performance from the Blues to begin the new year with a bang.

Changes made

With Aggie Beever-Jones and Keira Walsh both ruled out of this clash with injury, Sonia Bompastor rang the changes ahead of this WSL clash.

There were seven alterations to the starting line-up fielded against Liverpool in our 9-1 win before the winter break, as Hampton, Carpenter, Naomi Girma, James, Erin Cuthbert, Baltimore and Thompson all came back into the XI.

Meanwhile, the visitors were under the guidance of brand new manager Rita Guarino, who had replaced former boss Rehanne Skinner over the winter break.

Flying start

The Blues enjoyed the best possible start to 2026 in front of our fans at Kingsmeadow, taking the lead within one minute of the kick-off. James fed Carpenter down the right before the Australian played a low and hard cross across the face of goal, and Endo failed to deal with the danger when she turned the ball into her own net in an attempt to clear.

Chelsea continued to press forward and looked threatening down the wings in particular during the early stages, but the visitors slowly began to find their footing in the match and stemmed the tide after the initial flurry.

But they could do nothing to stop our second, which came courtesy of James just before the half-hour mark as she netted from close range after another mix-up in the Hammers' backline. That was her first goal in WSL action since scoring against Brighton & Hove Albion on 2 March 2025, and we nearly had our third almost immediately afterwards.

Asserting our dominance

Rytting Kaneryd blasted a shot towards goal, and only the fingertips of West Ham stopper Kinga Szemik turned the effort onto the underside of the bar, and the wicked attempt flew back out.

The attacking prowess of the Sweden international and Carpenter down the right-hand side were causing all kinds of problems for Guarino's side, and it was Rytting Kaneryd's attempt that was turned in at the far post by Thompson for her fourth WSL goal of the campaign.

Chelsea were not finished yet. Bompastor's side made it four before the half-time whistle blew, thanks to a wonderful curling effort from Baltimore.

Second half swagger

The Blues continued where we had left off as we began the second half, pushing for more goals to rack up the scoreline. When Millie Bright set up Rytting Kaneryd in the box, the winger teed up James, and her swerving effort was well saved by Szemik.

And when Vivienne Asseyi was adjudged to have blocked Rytting Kaneryd's shot with her hand inside the penalty area, Baltimore made no mistake in stepping up to the spot and converting the resulting penalty, putting us five goals to the good.

In the latter stages, Bompastor introduced youngsters Lexi Potter and Chloe Sarwie, who both gained some vital WSL experience with the victory all but secured.

Chelsea scored 20 goals in our last four matches of 2025, and continued in that same vein with another five added to this season's WSL tally in what was a truly professional display.

What it means...

Our three points see us maintain the six-point gap to leaders Manchester City after they also won their match against Everton.

What comes next...

We will play at Kingsmeadow once more next Saturday when we face WSL 2 side Crystal Palace in the Women's FA Cup fourth round.

The teams

Chelsea: Hampton, Carpenter, Bright (c), Buurman, Girma, Nusken (Potter 61), Cuthbert (Kaptein h-t), James (Reiten 61), Thompson (Kerr 61), Baltimore (Sarwie 80), Rytting Kaneryd
Unused subs: Peng, Spencer, Bronze, Shooter
Scorers: Endo own goal 1, James 28, Thompson 40, Baltimore 44, 70
Booked: James 36

West Ham: Szemik, Endo, Siren, Belloumou, Ueki (Brasero 86), Nystrom, Martinez (Wandeler 76), Asseyi (Piubel 83), Gorry (c) (Csiki h-t), Morgan, Hanshaw
Unused subs: Walsh, Cascarino, Houssein, Taylor-Brown, Cemal

Referee: Stacey Pearson