Ellie Carpenter in Australia training. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

Chelsea’s new signing tears apart Man City and makes mockery of 'absurd' tactic to try and stop her

Originally posted on Chelsea News | Last updated Sep 8, 2025 9:00 AM ET

It’s the international break and the transfer window is closed… Chelsea have played 3 games this season and there’s not much more to say until they’re back in action this Saturday night.

So this is a good chance to check in on the women’s team. They’ve had another strong summer, adding more quality to a team which was already perhaps the strongest in Europe in terms of squad depth. One of the more interesting additions was Ellie Carpenter, the Australian international right back signed from Lyon.

Carpenter has perfect debut with win over title rivals

She made her debut on Sunday in the season opener against Man City, and didn’t waste any time. She was Player of the Match after tearing up and down the right flank for 90 minutes and giving poor City defender Alex Greenwood no chance.

She assisted the opening goal in Chelsea’s 2-1 win, and they discussed her impact on the London is Blue podcast’s summary of the game.

Superb Carpenter praised by pundits

“That right channel destroyed Man City. It’s really tough to stop someone like Ellie getting in behind you, and we know that she has that delivery on her as well. Putting Alex Greenwood against one of the fastest players on the planet is an absurd decision, but they don’t really have many options out there either. It probably contributed to the hamstring in the second half too. She just could not keep up, it was such a mismatch,” said Ollie Glanvill.

While some of the bigger names coming in this summer have had more hype so far, it looks like Carpenter is going to quickly become one of the top players in the whole WSL. Chelsea look good for another league title – but can Carpenter help them succeed in Europe too?

This article first appeared on Chelsea News and was syndicated with permission.

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