Canada’s Jessie Fleming helps Chelsea women retain Continental League Cup

WATFORD, England — Canadian international Jessie Fleming and Chelsea won the Continental League Cup on Sunday with a 6-0 romp over Bristol City.

The 23-year-old midfielder from London, Ont., played the full 90 minutes as the Chelsea women retained the title they won in February 2020 with a 2-1 win over Arsenal.

Sunday’s win gave Emma Hayes her eighth major trophy as manager.

Australian captain Sam Kerr scored a hat-trick for the Blues with England’s Fran Kirby adding a pair and Norway’s Guro Reiten contributing a single.

Chelsea led 1-0 after two minutes and 4-0 at the half at Vicarage Road.

Having made their three substitutions, the Blues played the last 15 minutes with 10 players after fullback Maren Mjelde, who captains Norway, was stretchered off with an apparent knee injury.

Chelsea currently tops the FA Women’s Super League table at 13-1-2. Bristol City is 11th in the 12-team division at 2-10-3.

Fleming joined Chelsea last July after a stellar collegiate career at UCLA. She has won 77 caps for Canada with 10 goals and four assists.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 14, 2021

The Canadian Press