Chelsea made a serious statement in the Women’s Super League title race on Saturday as they beat Manchester City 2-0 at Stamford Bridge to snatch top spot. It was a cagey affair from which a winner was extremely tough to call for the most part – until two goals in four second half minutes allowed the Blues to secure a huge victory in their bid to claim a sixth successive league title, and a first under new head coach Sonia Bompastor.
Until that deadlock was broken, it was Chelsea who enjoyed the better of the play in the capital, but City who were on the receiving end of the bigger chances. Those were thanks to errors from the Blues and they were presented to the visitors’ most dangerous player, too, but Khadija Shaw, last season’s Golden Boot winner, was surprisingly wasteful to leave the game incredibly even as the latter stages approached.
It was as the final 15 minutes began that Chelsea then grabbed this match with both hands. Maika Hamano released Mayra Ramirez who, after brushing off Alanna Kennedy with ease, finished brilliantly to break the deadlock, and then Lucy Bronze’s intelligent pass to Guro Reiten became a deserved assist when the winger curled her shot around Alex Greenwood and into the bottom corner. It means these two title rivals swap positions in the WSL table and Chelsea, who still have a game in hand, hold a two-point lead over the Cityzens. However, with it only mid-November, there’s plenty of football to be played before the destination of this trophy is decided.
GOAL rates Chelsea’s players from Stamford Bridge…