Chelsea star Johanna Rytting Kaneryd has praised her “unreal” teammate Alyssa Thompson.
Thompson scored Chelsea’s third goal in a 5-0 win over West Ham at the weekend, with Kaneryd providing the assist.
The 21-year-old USA international has made an immediate impact at Chelsea since joining in a £1.1m deal from Angel City in the summer.
What did Johanna Rytting Kaneryd say about Alyssa Thompson?
Speaking to Chelsea’s media in quotes released on Tuesday morning, Johanna Rytting Kaneryd said she is happy to play with Alyssa Thompson.
She said: “One of our biggest strengths in this team is the pace we have, and it’s really fun to play with Alyssa and Ellie (Carpenter) because you can just serve them the ball and then they just run, even if they’ve started off a little bit behind.
“Alyssa’s pace is unreal, and she’s really good on the ball, too. She’s very dangerous and creates a lot of chances for us. She’s been scoring and assisting, and that says a lot about her and I’m so happy to play with her.”
🗣️ JRK: “One of our biggest strengths in this team is the pace we have, and it’s really fun to play with Alyssa and Ellie [Carpenter] because you can just serve them the ball and then they just run, even if they’ve started off a little bit behind.
Alyssa’s pace is unreal, and… pic.twitter.com/tnCbryWNfi
— Chelsea Women (@CFC__Women) January 13, 2026
Swedish international Kaneryd also spoke about the importance of the win, as Chelsea look to put pressure on league leaders Manchester City, who currently hold a six-point gap.
She said: “It’s important to always focus on ourselves and what we can do. It’s about winning football matches, and that’s how we win titles. We know what we need to do to win.
“Mine and Alyssa’s strengths are running in behind, but I felt the setup worked well today, especially with Lauren (James) just behind as a number ten. I was trying to make spaces for my teammates and make as many runs as I could.”
How have Rytting Kaneryd and Thompson performed this season?
Both Kaneryd and Thompson have been in excellent form for Chelsea so far this season.
Kaneryd has scored six goals and provided five assists for the Blues in all competitions this season.
Half of those goals came in Chelsea’s 9-1 League Cup win over Liverpool before the winter break.
Thompson has been one of the signings of the season with four goals and one assist in the WSL so far this term.
She has quickly established herself as a regular at Stamford Bridge and will play a huge part in Chelsea’s push to defend their title.
Chelsea have a busy run of fixtures coming up. Chelsea play Crystal Palace in the FA Cup, Manchester City in the semi-finals of the League Cup, before playing Arsenal and the WSL league leaders again by February 1st.
Meanwhile, Chelsea have sold Oriane Jean-Francois for a club record £450,000 to Aston Villa.
