MY ACCOUNT
Guro Reiten has been outstanding in attack for Chelsea.
The 28-year-old Norwegian’s quick feet and pinpoint deliveries have left defenders scrambling, as the Blues’ No11 continues to rack up some remarkable numbers in West London.
She is currently leading the way when it comes to Women’s Super League assists — and will now be looking to make a similar impact in European competition.
Reiten could be crucial to Chelsea’s chances of continental success, as they prepare for tonight’s Women’s Champions League quarter-final first leg against last season’s winners Lyon.
FA Cup fortune
Reiten has been in fine form for Chelsea in recent weeks — and helped guide them to a 3-1 Women’s FA Cup quarter-final win over Reading on Sunday.
The 78-cap international assisted the opening goal by lofting a cross to the back post for Jess Carter, who tucked away with ease.
She was taken down by Brooke Hendrix in the box to win a penalty, which Maren Mjelde converted to double the Blues’ lead on 26 minutes.
Reiten then all but sealed the win by finishing an Alsu Abdullina pass with 51 minutes on the clock.
High praise from Hayes
Chelsea manager Emma Hayes was full of praise for the Sunndalsora native, following that victory over the Royals.
She said: “She [Reiten] is just a wonderful player.
“So intelligent, takes up great positions, in possession she’s so versatile. She’s an absolute dream to work with. The combination of Guro and Niamh [Charles] down the middle did really well.
“The squad depth showed in today’s performance. It reflected the hard work we’ve put in in training.
“We adapted really well playing a team that presses really aggressively, really high, so you haven’t got the time and space to play the way you want. We exploited the space they gave us.
“We’ve come here before and struggled, but today we did what we had to do in the right moments and the team executed the game plan perfectly.”
Creative excellence
Reiten has been Chelsea’s creator-in-chief this term, recording an impressive 13 assists across all competitions.
The former LSK Kvinner star possesses an arsenal of different deliveries, often taking up positions on the left side of the pitch to cross the ball.
Reflecting on her own performances, she said: “I want to be as good as possible every time I step on the pitch.
“I enjoy my position on the left side, I’ve been getting really good balls into the box, I’ve just got to put them in the right place for the players inside our box.
“I don’t care about the assists or the goals as long as we keep winning. As an attacking player you want to contribute to goals and so far, so good!”
Shooting for European silverware
Chelsea performed commendably in the Women’s Champions League group stages by topping Group A after racking up five wins and a total of 16 points.
Guro was a key figure and provided four assists — three of which came in their stunning 8-0 win against KS Vllaznia at Kingsmeadow.
She also registered eight deliveries into the box and an impressive 16 key passes over six matches, as the Blues go in search of their first continental triumph.
In this European campaign, they have found the back of the net 19 times from 35 attempts on target and have conceded just once so far.
Dangerous Lyon
Women’s Champions League title-holders Lyon will not relinquish the trophy without a fight, however.
The eight-time winners have emerged victorious from 12 of their 13 previous quarter-finals in this competition and come into this evening’s match on fire, winning their last five Arkema D1 fixtures.
They have shown a chink in their European armour this season, though, by falling to a record 5-1 defeat at home to Arsenal in October.
And Lyon’s only league loss in 2022-23 came against Paris Saint-Germain, who the Blues beat twice by an aggregate score of 4-0 in the group stages.
Regardless, if Chelsea want to take the upper hand in this tie, Reiten will need to be firing on all cylinders at the OL Stadium.
