WSL champions Chelsea held to a draw by Manchester United | OneFootball

Reigning Barclays Women’s Super League champions Chelsea have dropped their first points of the season with the South West Londoners having battled out a 1-1 draw with Manchester United this evening.

Wieke Kaptein fired Chelsea into an early lead but Anna Sandberg levelled for the hosts as both sides shared the spoils in Leigh.

Manchester United started the game well and Elisabeth Terland forced an early save from Hannah Hampton before Jess Park spurned a great chance to score.

At the other end, Ellie Carpenter’s dangerous cross found Aggie Beever-Jones but she was unable to flick the ball on target.

The deadlock was broken in the ninth minute when Johanna Rytting Kaneryd and Catarina Macario combined in a slick Chelsea move which was finished off by Kaptein from close range.

The Blues were ahead for just 11 minutes. A ball fell to Sandberg on the edge of the box and she impressively rifled a shot beyond Hampton and into the net.

Kaptein then almost netted her second goal of the game but Tullis-Joyce denied her from point blank range.

Both sides brought further attacking energy in the second half but quality chances were few and far between. Beever-Jones saw a deflected effort go narrowly wide before Melvine Malard went equally as close at the other end with a drilled shot across goal.

Chelsea pushed hard to keep their winning run going late in the game and Sjoeke Nüsken went close before Keira Walsh was denied by Tullis-Joyce as the contest ended 1-1.

Both sides begin their league phase UEFA Women’s Champions League campaigns in midweek. Manchester United play host to Vålerenga while Chelsea travel to FC Twente.