Rangers Women 1-4 Chelsea Women: Pernille Harder super show sees off Gers in glamour friendly

A masterclass from Danish star Pernille Harder helped Chelsea to a pre-season victory in Glasgow, as Emma Hayes’ side defeat Rangers 4-1 in a glamour friendly at a sold out Auchenhowie.

Rangers' Sam Kerr. Photo by Mark Scates / SNS Group

Brogan Hay (19) had given Gers the lead, however a double strike from Harder (20, 28 pen) plus goals from Bethany England (75) and Emma Thomson (84) handed the Women’s Super League Champions the victory.

Scotland star Erin Cuthbert formed part of a strong Chelsea starting eleven that included Harder, England and Ann-Katrin Berger, while Rangers included new signings Tessel Middag, Jane Ross and Kayla McCoy.

The game exploded into life early on, when Chelsea captain Drew Spence smashed off the bar after just three minutes.

However, despite Chelsea dominance, it would be Rangers who would hit the front when pacey winger Hay capitalised on slack defending to round Berger - who temporarily recovered to save - before the winger tapped home into an empty net.

Emma Hayes' side would respond immediately through Harder, who connected superbly to Guro Reiten's left wing to restore parity less than a minute later.

The away team would move into the lead just before the half hour mark when Brianna Westrup was adjudged to have handled in the box, and Harder made no mistake from 12 yards.

Cuthbert would almost score on her return to Glasgow, but was unlucky to see her long range drive cannon back off Fife's post.

Fife would be called into action twice moments later, firstly to palm away an excellent drive from Spence before tipping an England stinger over the bar.

Despite continued pressure from the visitors, great work from Nicola Docherty allowed Sam Kerr a rare foray forward, though the midfielder was desperately unlucky to see her placed effort drift past the far post. However, with 15 minutes left on the clock, a flowing move started by Harder allowed England to tap home from close range and effectively kill any hope of a Gers comeback.

With the game coming to a close, Blues youngster Thompson added sheen to the scoreline, by firing a fourth beyond a helpless Gers defence.

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