Chelsea Women thrash winless Charlton 6-0 to reclaim WSL top spot

Chelsea Women beat Charlton Athletic Women 6-0 on Sunday, and the win sent them back to the top of the Barclays Women's Super League, England's top women's football league.

The match was played at The Valley, Charlton's ground in south-east London, with a 2.30pm UK kick-off. Charlton had yet to earn a point this season, and the afternoon did not get easier for them as it went on.

Chelsea were quick to settle. BBC Sport's live coverage recorded four early goals that put them 4-0 ahead, and Bjorn gave Chelsea the lead. The game was shown live on BBC Two, so plenty of viewers got to see the goals as they arrived.

Chelsea came into the match with 19 points from seven games, according to the club's preview. Manchester City were second, and the two sides were split only by goal difference, the total of goals scored minus goals conceded. After the win, Chelsea had scored 27 goals in eight WSL games. The fixture was Matchweek 8, meaning the eighth round of league games this season.

The numbers from the BBC's live page also show how much of the ball Chelsea controlled. They completed 86.44% of their passes, against 64.07% for Charlton. Passing accuracy is simply the share of passes that reach a teammate, and a high figure usually means a team is keeping the ball and choosing where to play it.

For Charlton, the scoreline is a hard start to the season, and the goals will be what the squad talks about on the training ground this week. For Chelsea, it is a reminder of how many chances their attack has been creating. Those are the kind of afternoons that keep a title race honest for the rest of the table.

Chelsea return to league action next. They play Everton on Saturday 7 November, with a 12.45pm kick-off, and the game will be shown live on Sky Sports.