Chelsea Women underperformed at Stamford Bridge compared to Kingsmeadow last season, data has shown.
Stats from FBREF show that the side underperformed in some key metrics in Women’s Super League (WSL) home games at Stamford Bridge across the season compared to Kingsmeadow.
Despite generally strong results for the Blues at the Bridge, the underlying data shows they were more comfortable in their execution at Kingsmeadow during Emma Hayes’ final season at the club.
Chelsea averaged 2.9 expected goals (xG) across both venues last season.
This metric measures how many goals a team are expected to score.
This rose to 3.1 xG at Kingsmeadow, but fell to 2.6 xG at Stamford Bridge, showing the side were expected to score 0.5 less chances at the bigger stadium.
Chelsea also underperformed in the goals expected against them at Stamford Bridge.
They had an expected goals of 1.0 per game against them at Stamford Bridge, with only 0.9 at Kingsmeadow.
In their four WSL games at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea conceded a goal in each match but only conceded in three games at Kingsmeadow.
Despite the stats suggesting Chelsea underperformed at Stamford Bridge, forward Aggie Beever-Jones suggested opponents fear playing against them at the grounds.
She said: “Going back to Stamford Bridge, we have the reputation of ‘we love winning’, and I think whenever a club comes to Chelsea, they know it’s going to be a hard battle.
“If I was at any other club I’d hate coming to play us if I’m brutally honest.
“That’s the way we want it to be. We want people to not like us for winning.”
Chelsea also underperformed in terms of their possession in games at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea registered just 53.75% average possession at Stamford Bridge, a near 9% decrease on Kingsmeadow at 62.42%.
Stamford Bridge, the home of the men’s team, is normally reserved for the ‘bigger’ games, with every one of their opponents finishing inside the top six.
While Kingsmeadow, the traditional home of the women’s team, tends to host matches against less illustrious opponents, with the anomaly being title rivals Manchester City.
Chelsea fan and journalist Rob Pratley said: “I think the thing is at Kingsmeadow, you kind of expect them to dominate the ball more, and it’s also a much more tight and compact like pitch.”
By the numbers, Chelsea’s worse home game of the season was against Arsenal.
Across the 90 minutes they registered the lowest statistics for possession, touches, passes attempted and completed.
Despite this, the side won 3-1, in their final WSL game at Stamford Bridge of the season.
Pratley added: “One thing I do remember from last year that really frustrated me during the Stamford Bridge games was Chelsea had a bit of a habit of when they took the lead in games, not keeping the high press up.
“They pressed really high, scored, and then they were not doing it more.”
Chelsea won all four games at Stamford Bridge in the WSL last season.
In comparison, they won all but one of their seven matches at Kingsmeadow, with the 0-1 loss to Manchester City ending their 22 unbeaten run at home.
The Blues completed and attempted fewer passes at Stamford Bridge than Kingsmeadow.
The side completed 428 out of 535 passes at Stamford Bridge.
This is compared to 525 out of 648 passes at Kingsmeadow.
Sjoeke Nüsken joined Chelsea in 2023 from Eintracht Frankfurt in the Frauen-Bundesliga.
She credits the fans for bringing energy to Stamford Bridge, which can hold far more fans on matchdays than Kingsmeadow.
She said: “The fans, the supporters, they are pushing us to the next level. They help us to get the wins.”
The data suggest Chelsea underperformed at Stamford Bridge in legendary manager Hayes’ last season at the club after 12 years at the club.
Despite this, her side still won their fifth WSL title in a row after taking the race to the final day with Manchester City.
Whilst there is data to show the disparity between Stamford Bridge and Kingsmeadow for Chelsea last season, there is the obvious and substantial point that the side still lifted silverware to see Hayes off in style.
