Sandberg’s superb strike denies Chelsea as Manchester United hold WSL leaders | OneFootball

There was plenty of entertainment for neutrals and ample chances for both teams to win it but, ultimately, Chelsea and Manchester United had to settle for a draw that maintained their unbeaten starts to the Women’s Super League season, on a night when the United manager Marc Skinner believed his team made a big statement of their intent.

The 1-1 draw extended United’s agonisingly long wait for a first WSL victory against Chelsea but ended the defending champions’ 100% start and United will have taken great encouragement from a performance that showed they may well have the qualities to mount a serious title challenge.

“I like that we weren’t happy at the end because we wanted to win the game,” Skinner said. “I thought we were excellent, barring the first 10 or 15 minutes where I felt we paid them a little bit too much respect, but with the ball tonight it was a really good example of how we’ve evolved; we were really confident with the ball. For the neutral it was a good draw and a high level of quality from both teams.”

The quality level certainly was high and for a game played between the teams with the two best defensive records in the WSL last term, and which had conceded the fewest goals this season before kick-off, the game began in a surprisingly open fashion as both attacked early on. The contest opened at such a fast pace that it could easily have been 2-2 inside the first six minutes, with Hannah Hampton saving with her feet from Elisabeth Terland, Catarina Macario’s effort being blocked by Maya Le Tissier, Jess Park firing narrowly over the crossbar and then Aggie Beever‑Jones following suit when she seemed certain to score.

Chelsea did then provide the goal that the early flurry of attacks had threatened, as Wieke Kaptein met Macario’s clever back-heeled pass and slotted in a neat, clinical finish low into the corner, as the hosts conceded a league goal for only the second time this season.

Manchester United had lost 10 of their previous 11 WSL meetings with Chelsea, but this confident version of Skinner’s team were unwilling to roll over. Inspired by the dribbling of Park, who seemed determined to skip her way past as many defenders as possible and was the driving force of her team’s adventurous play, they continued to create chances and they were soon level when Anna Sandberg scored her first goal for the club. She could hardly have caught her strike any sweeter, angling her foot perfectly over the ball to arrow a half-volley powerfully past Hampton from just outside the area.

It was Park that drew Skinner’s highest praise after the game as he said: “She’s electric. She twists, she turns. She was incredible. I think her and Tooney [Ella Toone] have brought each other to life.”

The game was played amid Storm Amy, which brought swirling rain and gusts of wind, and started with a minute’s silence after the terrorist attack on a synagogue in Manchester on Thursday, with the home side also wearing black armbands as a mark of respect. This was the ground where Chelsea clinched last season’s title, but this looks like a much improved United team and they continued to threaten in the second half, with Fridolina Rolfö’s deflected effort looping on to the top of the bar before Park’s swerving effort flew narrowly over. Melvine Malard, on as a substitute, dragged a low shot wide with 21 minutes remaining.

Skinner had said on Wednesday that he wanted his team to be brave and “show Chelsea that you can beat them”, and they certainly seemed to respond to his rallying cry as they continued to play with intensity and attacking intent, while Chelsea remained dangerous at the other end too, with Beever-Jones going close.

Chelsea’s Sjoeke Nüsken bent an effort just wide of a post as the visitors began to search for a late winner, and Alyssa Thompson was almost able to race through on to a loose ball inside the penalty area but she was tackled by the quick thinking United goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce, who also dived low to her left to keep out a Keira Walsh shot moments later.

Guro Reiten had a shot blocked in stoppage time, as late Chelsea pressure grew, but in the end a draw was a relatively fair result, which Sonia Bompastor seemed to agree on as she said: “As much as we have the desire to win every game, I think it’s not a bad result, coming here, one of the toughest places to play, getting a draw is not a bad result, even if three points would have been a lot better. I’m not happy tonight, even if I’m smiling, just because we didn’t win the game. I don’t care about our unbeaten run.”

Header image: [Photograph: Jason Cairnduff/Action Images/Reuters]