Sam Kerr fired the Blues ahead when she converted Johanna Rytting Kaneryd’s cross at the near post inside the opening quarter of an hour, but the home side drew level when Clarissa Larisey dispatched an inviting cross, meaning there was nothing to separate the sides at half-time.

Calls to be more clinical were answered and a quickfire brace from Erin Cuthbert gave the Blues a welcome two-goal cushion just after the hour mark, and we used it to see out the game in relative comfort, despite Hacken having a goal ruled out for offside in added time.

Even contest

Emma Hayes made three changes to the side which began our Barclays Women’s Super League victory over Bristol City on Sunday. Zecira Musovic returned between the sticks with Kadeisha Buchanan partnering Jess Carter at the heart of a back four. In the wide areas, Rytting Kaneryd came back into the starting line-up against her former club for our final competitive fixture of 2023.

On a bitterly cold evening in Gothenburg, the Blues got the game underway and were immediately on the front foot with a confident spell of possession. However, it was the hosts who conjured the first meaningful chance of the match. Anna Anvegard made a well-timed run into the box and met a cross from the right, curling the ball narrowly wide of the far post with a first-time strike.

With almost quarter of an hour played, we seized the initiative and opened the scoring courtesy of captain Kerr. Rytting Kaneryd showed persistence and determination to win back possession on the by-line before expertly picking out Kerr, who had made an intelligent run to the near post and instinctively fired the ball into the roof of the net to strike the first blow.

After working hard to get ourselves ahead in the match, our efforts were undone when the hosts drew level on 25 minutes through Larisey. A dangerous cross from the left was whipped across the box in the direction of the lone striker, who worked herself some space and headed past Musovic to spark the home crowd into life.

We regained our composure and refocused our energy on the search for a second goal. Lauren James struck a fierce effort from distance over the crossbar, Sophie Ingle watched in anguish as her driven effort was well saved by Falk who was equal to a third effort from Rytting Kaneryd, frustrating the Blues and leaving us all square going into the break.

Cuthbert class

Shortly after the restart, Hacken were a lick of paint away from turning the game on its head but our blushes were spared by the crossbar, which came to the rescue after a swift counter-attack almost caught us off guard. We were creating chances but needed to be more clinical than we were in the reverse fixture one week ago.

With those words ringing in the players' ears, we restored our advantage on 51 minutes thanks to Cuthbert. Ingle worked the ball across to the box to the Scottish midfielder, she took one touch to set herself before drilling a left-footed strike across the goalkeeper and into the far corner of the net, much to the delight of the Chelsea fans behind the goal.

Reiten and Ingle made way for Sjoeke Nusken and Jessie Fleming in a double change for the Blues just shy of the hour mark and soon after, Cuthbert was in on the scoring act for the second time. She took the ball under her spell to charge into the penalty area and fizz a powerful effort beyond Falk to give us some much-needed breathing space.

There were further changes when forwards Mia Fishel and Aggie Beever-Jones were introduced, as we looked to consolidate our lead in the closing 15 minutes of the match, but the hard work had already been done.

There was a moment of good fortune when Hacken substitute Molly Johansson headed past Musovic at the back post to pull one back with her first touch, but the officials ruled it out for offside, a decision which replays showed to be incorrect.

It would have made little difference, though, with only seconds left on the clock, and Chelsea ended as deserved 3-1 winners.

What it means

Victory for Chelsea in Sweden sees us move to the top of Group D with eight points, one clear of Hacken in second spot, going into the impending winter break.

What’s next?

After a hectic opening few months of the season, the Blues will take a well-earned rest when the mid-season break begins upon our return from Sweden.

We are back in competitive action when West Ham United are the visitors to Kingsmeadow in the Adobe Women’s FA Cup fourth round proper on Sunday 14 January.

The teams

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Musovic; Lawrence, Buchanan, Carter, Charles; Ingle (Nusken 58), Cuthbert, Rytting Kaneryd (Beever-Jones 87), James, Reiten (Fleming 58); Kerr (c) (Fishel 73)
Unused Subs: Berger, Hampton, Kirby, Perisset, Mjelde, Brown
Scorers: Kerr (14), Cuthbert (51, 64)

BK Hacken (4-2-3-1): Falk; Kosola, Rybrink (c), Luik, Junttila-Nelhage; Curmark (Grant 89), Fossdalsa Sorensen (Schroder 76); Anvegard, Kafaji (Johansson 90+2), Jusu Bah (Bergman-Lundin 76); Larisey (Sandberg 76)
Unused Subs: Geurts, Hoglund Jansson, Lowing, Masaka
Scorers: Larisey (26)
Booked: Fossdalsa Sorensen (21)

Referee: Ewa Augustyn