Match report: Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United
The Blues are currently five points ahead at the top of the Women's Super League standings after securing a 1-0 victory over Manchester United at Kingsmeadow.
On a remarkably blustery afternoon in Kingston, Guro Reiten scored the first goal just 17 minutes into the match from the penalty kick. This goal was sufficient for Sonia Bompastor's team to achieve their eighth straight win in the league and their twelfth victory across all competitions.
Chelsea's win over Manchester United makes them the only team in the Women’s Super League that hasn't lost a match this season.
Bompastor made six alterations to the squad that won against Celtic in the UEFA Champions League earlier this week. However, the team that faced Manchester City at Stamford Bridge last Saturday remained the same, with Hannah Hampton, Nathalie Bjorn, Sandy Baltimore, Erin Cuthbert, Maika Hamano, and Mayra Ramirez all making a comeback.
The prime chance early on came to Chelsea just seven minutes into the match. Cuthbert skillfully regained possession near the edge of the penalty area and passed it to Hamano. However, her close-range attempt was stopped by the goalkeeper, Phallon Tullis-Joyce.
A corner delivered by Reiten reached the far post, where Sjoeke Nusken fired off a strong shot, but unfortunately, her attempt went just past the post.
Before long, the home team had another opportunity when Reiten delivered a tempting cross from the left. Johanna Rytting Kaneryd connected with it using her head, but it went just past the wrong side of the post.
However, the team quickly took the lead when a penalty was given in the 16th minute after Ramirez was fouled by Tullis-Joyce. Our leading scorer, Reiten, took the penalty and confidently sent the ball into the bottom corner, past the United goalkeeper, putting us ahead 1-0.
The first opportunity for the visitors came after 37 minutes when Rachel Williams attempted to send a curling cross from outside the penalty area to Celin Bizet. However, she missed her teammate, and the ball ended up drifting far away from Hampton's far post.
As the first half was winding down, our captain Millie Bright made an excellent interception to stop Geyse from scoring from close range. After that, the resulting corner was cleared away, and the Blues tried to launch a counterattack, but it ultimately didn’t lead to anything.
Aiming For The Better
Five minutes after the break, the away team took their first shot on goal, which was expertly saved by a fully extended Hampton. He managed to deflect Geyse's long-range attempt, sending it wide of the post, and the Blues cleared the resulting corner kick.
We aimed to enhance our lead with Ramirez, who skillfully maneuvered the ball into the penalty area. She then fired off a strong shot, forcing Tullis-Joyce to dive low to her near post to make the save.
The home team created a couple more chances to increase their advantage. Cuthbert had a shot that was saved by the Manchester United goalkeeper, and shortly after, Bjorn's header from a corner was deflected just past the goal.
Rytting Kaneryd intercepted a stray pass in the attacking area, made her way into the penalty box, and tested Tullis-Joyce once more, who had to make a close-range save. Following the corner kick, Bronze met the ball with her chest, but unfortunately sent it just past the post.
With a little over 15 minutes remaining, the Blues earned a free-kick after Cuthbert was brought down by Dominique Janssen. After Catarina Macario sent the ball into the area, it ricocheted around before Ramirez managed to get a shot off, which was saved by Tullis-Joyce.
In the closing minutes of regular time, Rytting Kaneryd and Ramirez combined well, nearly scoring our second goal of the day. However, after receiving the ball from a cutback, Ramirez could only manage to shoot it directly at the United goalkeeper.
On the opposite side, the goalposts prevented the visitors from leveling the score in the final minute. Substitute Melvine Malard launched a strong shot from the edge of the penalty area, but it hit the post, bringing a sigh of relief to the players in blue.
Aside from that late chance and some pressure from United towards the end, Chelsea managed to control the game fairly well, securing our eighth consecutive win in the league to start the season.
We currently hold a five-point lead at the top of the standings, having triumphed in all eight of our league games. Bompastor's team is the only one in the WSL that hasn't lost a match this season.
Several players from the Blues will shift their focus to representing their countries as the domestic season takes a break. We will be back in action in the Women's Super League on December 8, when we welcome Brighton & Hove Albion to Kingsmeadow.
Chelsea: Hampton; Bronze, Bright, Bjorn, Baltimore, Nusken, Cuthbert, Reiten (Beever-Jones 56'), Hamano (Macario 56'), Rytting Kaneryd, Ramirez. Players who didn't play: Musovic, Lawrence, Perisset, Mpome, Bernabe, Kaptein, Jean-Francois. Goalscorers: Reiten at the 17th minute. Yellow card: Cuthbert at 90+6 minutes.
Man United lineup: Tullis-Joyce; Riviere, Le Tissier, Turner, George (replaced by Sandberg in the 90+3rd minute), Geyse, Awujo (substituted by Ladd in the 89th minute), Janssen, Bizet (swapped out for Galton in the 61st minute), Clinton, and Williams (taken off for Malard in the 61st minute). Players who didn’t get to play: Middleton-Patel, Miyazawa, Watson, Simpson. Yellow cards were given to Tullis-Joyce in the 16th minute, Williams in the 30th, Clinton in the 40th, and Janssen in the 74th.
