Chelsea 2-1 Manchester City – Champions begin WSL campaign with victory over Manchester City | OneFootball

Chelsea launched their title defence with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Manchester City in the opening fixture of the Barclays Women’s Super League season. Goals from Aggie Beever-Jones and Maika Hamano secured the win for the reigning champions, despite late pressure from City.

As it happened

After sweeping the domestic treble last season under Sonia Bompastor, Chelsea faced an immediate test against a Manchester City side eager to stake their own claim for the title. The visitors began brightly, with Khadija Shaw forcing Hannah Hampton into an early save inside ten minutes.

Chelsea soon responded, and Ayaka Yamashita was called into action at the other end, getting a crucial touch on Sandy Baltimore’s deflected strike after Gracie Prior had appeared to block the initial effort with her arm. No penalty was given.

The breakthrough came just after the half-hour mark. Ellie Carpenter surged down the right flank, outpacing Alex Greenwood before delivering a precise low cross for Beever-Jones to finish from close range.

The visitors almost levelled minutes later when Millie Bright fouled Shaw on the edge of the area. Greenwood stepped up and struck the resulting free kick against both post and bar, going agonisingly close to equalising for her side.

Although City enjoyed spells of possession, the home side entered the break with their advantage intact. The second half saw Andrée Jeglertz’s side dictate much of the tempo, but Chelsea struck against the run of play. Wieke Kaptein’s clever cutback found Hamano, who slotted the ball past Yamashita to double the lead just after the hour mark.

City pulled one back less than ten minutes later. Greenwood’s perfectly placed set-piece delivery into the box found Niamh Charles, who inadvertently headed into her own net to give the visitors one back.

With momentum on their side, City pressed forward in search of an equaliser. Chances fell to Yui Hasegawa, Vivianne Miedema, Shaw, Lauren Hemp, and Greenwood, but none could find a way past Hampton. Their task was further disrupted by late injuries; captain Greenwood limped off holding her hamstring, before Lily Murphy was stretchered away after appearing to suffer a wrist injury.

Despite sustained pressure from City, Chelsea held firm to secure all three points, extending their unbeaten domestic run and starting their title defence in positive fashion.

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