Have we seen Chelsea’s new first-choice midfield? Keira Walsh, Erin Cuthbert and Catarina Macario started together for the first time in Sunday’s 4-1 win over Everton, our first glimpse of how Sonia Bompastor might set up the team after signing Walsh last month from Barcelona on a four-and-a-half-year deal.
Comparing the strength of the weekend’s FA Cup line-up and the midweek League Cup semi-final starting XI with last weekend’s against Aston Villa in the league, it is clear Bompastor is heavily prioritising the cup competitions, which makes sense given Chelsea’s seven-point lead at the top of the Women’s Super League (WSL).
January signing Walsh started both cup matches and has already racked up 181 minutes in three games since joining on deadline day.
The immediate insertion of Walsh into the team is a testament to how highly rated she is by Bompastor — and why Chelsea spent big on bringing in a player who had six months left on her deal at Barcelona.
In Walsh, Chelsea have someone who can anchor the base of the midfield, calmly distributing the ball, freeing up 26-year-old Scotland international Cuthbert to hunt down turnovers from wherever she wants.
Chelsea’s previous first-choice midfield line-up consisted of Cuthbert and Sjoeke Nusken playing as a ‘double…
