Chelsea secured a deserved 1-0 victory over Manchester City at Stamford Bridge to leapfrog their rivals and reclaim top spot in the WSL table.
Sandy Baltimore’s first-half goal was enough to ensure Chelsea inflicted City’s first defeat of the season and blow the title race wide open.
After keeping the reigning WSL champions at bay following an early barrage, Chelsea grew in confidence but still lacked the cutting edge that had seen them held to back-to-back draws in the past week.
A moment of magic from Baltimore in the fourth minute of stoppage time ensured history would not repeat itself.
City goalkeeper Ayaka Yamashita was sent off in the 75th minute for a rash challenge on Alyssa Thompson, a move which appeared to invigorate the visitors, but Chelsea held firm to pick up all three points.
Daily Mail Sport’s Tara Anson-Walsh and Samara Watts were at Stamford Bridge to bring you the things we learned…
Chelsea inflicted City’s first defeat of the season and blew the title race wide open
City goalkeeper Ayaka Yamashita was sent off in the 75th minute for a rash challenge on Alyssa Thompson
Buchanan’s feeling the blues
Devastation for Kadeisha Buchanan, who was hooked after 11 minutes by Bompastor. The centre back has been one of Chelsea’s standout performers this season but had an unusually shaky start to this match as she looked out of her depth against Bunny Shaw, ever a precarious place to be against the league’s top striker.
Buchanan gave an early ball away to allow Shaw to race through towards the Chelsea goal, and a few minutes later was again outmuscled and outpaced by the Jamaican striker, although City failed to capitalise on both occasions.
The 31-year-old Canada international looked devastated when her number flashed up on the board after just 12 minutes and reluctantly welcomed a hug from her manager as she headed straight for the tunnel.
Her replacement, the 20-year-old Veerle Buurman, who was outstanding against Shaw in the two sides’ last meeting in the FA Cup, changed the game, giving Chelsea a more solid platform to build upon as they grew in confidence.
Bompastor shut down suggestions that the move had been ruthlessly tactical at full time, saying that Buchanan had picked up a head injury during training on Friday.
‘She was fine after the training session, she was fine in the evening and we assessed her again this morning and everything was fine,’ Bompastor said.
‘I had this information on what happened yesterday and I just felt, watching her from the beginning of the game, she was not herself. I took the responsibility to make this substitution. I was almost forced to do that because, I know my player, and I know she was not right in the game.’
The centre back has been one of Chelsea’s standout performers this season but had an unusually shaky start to this match and was hooked after just 11 minutes
Royalty in the building
Women’s football royalty Sarina Wiegman, Emma Hayes and Ian Wright braved the chilly climes of Stamford Bridge to witness the showdown between the WSL heavyweights on Saturday afternoon.
The freshly anointed honorary Dame Wiegman sat next to Hayes and the pair chatted warmly. This is a relationship that will no doubt drop in cordiality as the sand in the hourglass ahead of next summer’s World Cup continues to run down.
Wiegman had several England players on her watching brief, not least young Lexi Potter, whose stock has risen dramatically this season. The 20-year-old put in another assured performance against the reigning champions, continuing to demonstrate her maturity in the highest stakes, which will no doubt put her in a good position ahead of Tuesday’s squad announcement.
The Dutch coach will have been alarmed by the number of crunching tackles put in against her right back, Lucy Bronze, in this match. If there is one player that she will want to wrap up in cotton wool ahead of Brazil, it is the recently turned 35-year-old Bronze for her steadfast leadership and relentless athleticism.
Another player looking to make an impact ahead of Tuesday’s squad announcement was Aggie Beever-Jones, who has struggled this season and was left out of Sonia Bompastor’s starting line-up. An injury to Melvine Malard saw her gain more minutes than she would have expected, but she will have been disappointed not to have converted after once again finding herself in good positions.
Another player who finds herself in a race against time is Manchester United’s Ella Toone. Toone was left out of yet another of Eva Olid’s starting line-ups as Manchester United stormed to a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace, and the two-time Euros winner will be growing increasingly concerned with her situation as Brazil edges nearer.
The freshly anointed honorary dame Wiegman sat next to Hayes at the WSL showpiece at Stamford Bridge and the pair chatted warmly
Chelsea’s Malard blow
Melvine Malard’s absence raises questions about who Chelsea’s main goalscorer will be this season. The squad has lacked a clinical edge without England striker Lauren James, who is out with a hamstring injury until the international break.
The French forward went off injured after 35 minutes with a suspected hamstring injury. Although she missed Chelsea’s opening games after picking up a knock in pre-season, she has been the Blues’ top scorer in the absence of Lauren James with six league goals so far.
Chelsea are averaging 24 shots per game, an unprecedented rate across a WSL campaign, but have recently struggled to convert their chances. They were held to a 0-0 draw against BK Hacken midweek in the UWCL and a 1-1 draw against Everton last weekend.
Malard leaving the pitch meant Chelsea struggled to find a creative spark up front. Her replacement Aggie Beever-Jones has been dealing with an ankle injury, and is still trying to find her feet with only one goal in the WSL.
Head coach Sonia Bompastor said: ‘The frustration sometimes comes from us not being ruthless and clinical.’
A moment of magic from Malard’s French International teammate Sandy Baltimore was enough to make it 1-0 just before half time with the team’s first shot on target. However, Baltimore was substituted at half time to manage her minutes, and Chelsea were unable to capitalize on any of their chances in the second half.
Bompastor said: ‘From the outside it seems like we have had a lot of injuries, but we have been playing every three days.’
‘I knew coming into the game we were not as fresh as we would like to be, but that’s our environment.
‘We want to play in every competition but the players are not robots,’
Melvine Malard’s injury could cause more problems for the Blues’ attack, as they registered just two shots on target today and scraped the three points.
Malard limped off in the first half and meant Chelsea struggled for a creative spark up front
Yamashita’s moment of madness
Stamford Bridge was in uproar as City goalkeeper Ayaka Yamashita rushed out of her box and took down Alyssa Thompson, who had a clear chance on goal in the 75th minute.
The Blues were mounting a rapid attack down the left hand side, with Thompson just outside the box when Yamashita missed the ball and brought her to the ground.
The Japanese goalkeeper was shown a straight red card and was sent off the pitch. This was City’s first red card in the WSL since November 2023, and a rare moment of madness from the usually-composed 31-year-old.
The referee allowed City three minutes to replace the Japanese goalkeeper, with Scotland’s number one Eartha Cumings coming on to replace forward Aoba Fujino.
Her first test arrived only a minute later, as Aggie Beever-Jones’ right-footed shot from the resulting indirect free kick dropped dangerously, but she was saved by the crossbar.
The bigger question now is whether Yamashita’s absence – which could amass to three games – will have a lasting impact on their title race.
In the short-term against Chelsea, City reacted well. Andree Jeglertz said at full time: ‘The players dealt with it in a good way, so even though we were one player down we had a couple of great opportunities to score a goal. Of course it affected the game but that is not why we lost.’
Stamford Bridge was in uproar as Manchester City goalkeeper Ayaka Yamashita rushed out of her box to take down Alyssa Thompson, who had a clear chance on goal
It’s all up for grabs
Chelsea’s win at the Bridge blows the title race wide open, as they are now just one point ahead of City at the top of the WSL table.
Sonia Bompastor’s side ended City’s unbeaten streak, and they now have 24 league goals compared to City’s 16 after 10 games.
However, with seven shots and just one on target this game, Chelsea will need to look at their attacking options as they take on Liverpool and London City Lionesses before the international break.
Sonia Bompastor said: ‘It’s a nice feeling to be top of the table right now and to win against these top sides, but I know we still have a lot of work to be done and it’s early on in the season so many things can happen.’
City were unable to create opportunities in front of goal, with the WSL’s all-time leading goalscorer Vivianne Miedema’s return overshadowed by Ayaka Yamashita’s nightmare in goal.
City head coach Andree Jeglertz said: ‘They managed to score on their big chance and (it was a) great finish.
‘We also had some great opportunities where we didn’t manage to score, but I think we deserve more than going away from here with no points.’
London City Lionesses face Arsenal tomorrow at the Emirates, and a win in north London could bring them four points behind the new WSL leaders, and really start to make things interesting.
