Melvine Malard Makes Instant Impact at Chelsea, Reunited With Sonia Bompastor

Melvine Malard matched her goal tally from last season within six games for Chelsea. She has scored six Women's Super League goals in 341 minutes, according to BBC Sport. The Women's Super League is England's top women's league.

It took her 17 matches and 1,206 minutes to reach six league goals for Manchester United last season. She joined Chelsea from United in July, and the move has quickly paid off.

Her arrival has helped fill the gap left by Sam Kerr's departure from Chelsea. Kerr was the club's main goalscorer, and replacing that kind of threat is never simple. Malard is a striker, the player who usually leads the line and looks to score.

Her route to this point began far from the big stadiums. Malard grew up on Reunion Island, a French overseas territory in the Indian Ocean. She travelled to Clairefontaine, France's national football academy, for a tournament. There, she caught the eye of Sonia Bompastor.

Bompastor was then Lyon's head of youth development. She persuaded the teenager to leave Reunion Island and move to mainland France to join the club. Malard's Lyon career then took off. She broke into the first team as a 17-year-old in 2017.

Bompastor later became Lyon's head coach for the 2021-22 season. That season ended with one of the biggest nights in the club's history. Malard started the Champions League final against Barcelona, and Lyon won 3-1. The Champions League is Europe's top club competition, and winning it is a huge prize.

The two women have a long history. They first met in 2014 at Clairefontaine. Twelve years later, they are working together again, this time at Chelsea.

For Chelsea, the early returns are encouraging. For Malard, it is a fresh start that has come with goals. Six goals in a handful of games is a strong opening for any striker, and it gives Chelsea fans a reason to watch her closely in the weeks ahead.