Chelsea show they will still be the team to beat in the WSL | OneFootball

Chelsea showed they will be the team to beat in the Women’s Super League again this season with their 2-1 opening day victory over title rivals Manchester City.

Aggie Beever-Jones’ first half goal followed by Maika Hamano’s tidy finish midway through the second half proved to be enough for the London side to get all three points at Stamford Bridge, despite Niamh Charles’ own goal seeming to get City back into it in the last 20 minutes.

Chelsea have won the WSL on the previous six occasions and they go into this year looking to make it seven in a row. 12 points was the gap between Champions League winners Arsenal and the Blues in the WSL but that has not stopped Bompastor’s side strengthening this summer.

New signing Ellie Carpenter from Lyon started the match against City while new club record signing Alyssa Thompson was presented to the fans before kick-off. Another player that will feel like a new signing for Chelsea this year is Sam Kerr who has not played a match for the London side since she suffered an ACL injury in January 2024. She was an unused substitute for the season opener and the Stamford Bridge faithful will have to wait patiently to see her return to the pitch.

City dominated early on, the highlight of their early pressure being Khadija Shaw forcing a fine save from Euros winner Hannah Hampton in the Chelsea goal but it did not take long for the champions to find their rhythm and they almost made their pressure count just 16 minutes in as Sandy Baltimore’s deflected strike was saved brilliantly by Ayaka Yamashita.

The deadlock was broken in the 30th minute after great work from the new signing Carpenter down the right hand side. The Australian had been finding space on the flank throughout the first half and this time and her low cross was turned in by Beever-Jones at the near post.

City were not rolled over though and had chances of their own after Chelsea opened the scoring. An Alex Greenwood free-kick rattled the crossbar and Shaw had a shot saved by Hampton again after the first goal but they were left ruing their missed chances.

A Yui Hasegawa strike forced a save from Hampton early in the second half but it was Beever-Jones that looked closest to scoring after the break as she went through on goal in the 60th minute. Her shot from just inside the area sailed over the bar.

Chelsea did eventually double their lead through a tidy finish from Hamano who didn’t stop running all game. The goal came from another low ball in from the right but this time it was Wieke Kaptein who found the Japanese midfielder who slotted the ball into the empty net in the 64th minute.

After all their missed chances, City got back into the match in the 69th minute. Lauren Hemp’s free-kick drifted beautifully into the centre of the Chelsea box and Charles’ defensive header looped past Hampton to give the Citizens a lifeline.

Hampton made a number of huge stops in the last twenty mintues from Miedema and Shaw but they could not get the second goal they needed to get their first point on the board for the season.