Key events
77 min: Double substitution for Chelsea Johanna Rytting Kaneryd and Oriane Jean-Francois come on for Erin Cuthbert, who has an unspecified injury, and Sandy Baltimore.
75 min Hemp, who has had a superb second half, makes ground down the right, then moves infield and finds Shaw. She turns and shoots from 25 yards; it’s straight at Hampton.
74 min Carpenter is fouled just outside the area by Murphy. Baltimore’s free-kick leads to a scramble in the City area, with Macario’s shot blocked and Walsh slicing the rebound off target from 15 yards.
72 min Charles makes partial amends with a crucial interception to stop Shaw’s pass finding Hemp, who would have been clean through on goal.
GOAL! Chelsea 2-1 Man City (Charles og 70)
City are back in it. Greenwood arcs a dangerous free-kick from the right wing that is shouldered into het own net by the unsighted Charles. The ball may have brushed the head of Prior just in front of her; either way Charles couldn’t react quickly enough and diverted it past Hampton.
70 min “I can only imagine all MBM writers have ‘ City midfielder [insert name] is booked for a tactical foul’ (56 min) ready to paste at all times,” writes Matt Dony. “This joke was brought to you from 2018.”
68 min Hemp scurries away from Charles and cuts the ball back towards Shaw at the near post. She has her back to goal so lays it off to Miedema, whose stinging shot is blocked.
67 min Lily Murphy runs at Carpenter, shifts the ball onto her right foot and whips a nice cross-shot that flashes a few yards wide of the far post.
GOAL! Chelsea 2-0 Man City (Hamano 64)
And just like that, Chelsea put the game to bed (probably). Wieke Kaptein surges down the right, onto a good first-time flick from Macario, and slides a low cross back towards Macario. She misses her kick but the tireless Maika Hamano is waiting behind her to screw a first-time shot into the net.
62 min A loose pass from Prior is intercepted by Carpenter, who charges straight into the City area and is about to shoot when Yamashita dives at her feet to claim.
61 min: Chelsea substitution Beever-Jones breaks that sequence with a driven shot that goes high and wide. It’s her last contribution: she is replaced by Catarina Macario.
59 min A good stat on Sky: since Beever-Jones’ goal, all nine attempts at goal have been from City.
56 min City midfielder Sydney Lohmann is booked for a tactical foul.
54 min: Just wide by Hasegawa
City are all over Chelsea at the moment. A deft touch from Shaw releases Hemp, whose early goal is flicked just wide by Hasegawa. It was a neat bit of improvisation, a first-time flick behind her front leg, but it drifted past the far post.
52 min Greenwood’s corner is headed wide by Shaw, under pressure at the far post.
49 min Casparij’s cross from the right is headed away to the edge of the area. Hasegawa runs onto the ball and hits a technically superb volley that is beaten away by Hampton. It was straight at her but well struck.
46 min No changes on either side at the break.
Half-time reading
Half time: Chelsea 1-0 Man City
The champions Chelsea lead through a striker’s goal from Aggie Beever-Jones, made by the impressive debutant Ellie Carpenter. City contributed plenty to an enjoyable half, with Alex Greenwood whacking a free-kick against the crossbar; it’s still anyone’s game.
45+3 min: Miedema goes close
Lovely effort from Miedema, who runs purposefully at the Chelsea defence and drills a low shot from 20 yards. Hampton dives to her right and it flashes past the near post.
45 min Hasegawa’s snapshot from the edge of the area is blocked. City are ending the half as they started it, on the front foot.
Three minutes of added time.
42 min A dangerous cross from Casparij is turned behind. Nothing comes of the corner but City have responded well to conceding that goal.
38 min For all Chelsea’s general dominance, City have come close to scoring on three occasions.
36 min: Greenwood hits the bar
Bright isn’t happy when she is penalised for a challenge on Shaw 25 yards out. The free-kick is to the right of centre, perfect for a left-footer… like Alex Greenwood. She flashes a superb curler that clatters the crossbar and bounces to safety.
33 min: Fine save by Hampton!
City almost equalise straight away. Bjorn misjudges a ball forward that bounces beyond her and is collected by Shaw in the area. Bright comes across, Shaw slips her and blasts a close-range that is superbly blocked by Hampton.
GOAL! Chelsea 1-0 Man City (Beever-Jones 31)
Yep, it was coming. The debutant Ellie Carpenter, a bullet train on the right, is too quick for Greenwood and drives an excellent low cross towards the near post. Beever-Jones gets between the City centre-backs and steers a first-time finish past Yamashita from six yards. Outstanding play from Carpenter.
29 min Hampton scampers to the edge of the area to beat Shaw to a long pass from Rose.
26 min One positive for City is that Ayaka Yamashita hasn’t had that much to do, despite all the Chelsea pressure, but a goal for the home side is starting to feel inevitable.
Tom Garry
Sonia Bompastor looked absolutely furious with the officials while Yamashita was down receiving treatment. She appeared to suspect it was purely a tactical timeout and that it was taking too long.
22 min It took Chelsea a little while to find their feet but now they are the more dangerous side. City are struggling to keep the ball.
18 min: Fine save by Yamashita
Carpenter scoots down the right and crosses low towards Baltimore at the far post. She drags the ball away from Casparij to make room for a shot that deflects off the outstretched arm of Prior – that could have been a penalty – and is pawed round the post by the diving Yamashita.
15 min Yamashita is fine to continue for now.
13 min Yamashita is down and has a problem with her right knee. Khiara Keating is sent out to warm up.
12 min Murphy, City’s young left-winger, runs at Carpenter with purpose, makes a yard but then crosses too close to Hampton.
11 min This is a good spell for Chelsea, with Carpenter looking lively in the role of attacking right-back. It’s been a bright start to the game.
10 min Another Chelsea corner is headed away to the edge of the area. Walsh flips a half-volleyed shot that hits a City defender and goes over the bar.
8 min Carpenter’s dangerous cross from the right is turned down by Casparij to give Chelsea the first corner of the match. Cuthbert takes and it’s headed away at the near post.
6 min Miedema slips Hamano just outside the Chelsea area, forcing Bright to step out and clear. City have been excellent so far.
3 min City have started well. Bunny Shaw collects the ball on the left side of the area, shifts the ball to the side and blasts a shot that is pushed away the diving Hampton. Good save.
2 min City captain Alex Greenwood has started at left-back, with Gracie Prior and Jade Rose as the centre-backs. Prior moves forward and gets her head to Hasegawa’s free-kick without being able to direct it on target.
1 min Peep peep! The 2025-26 WSL season is under way.
Chelsea’s record signing Alyssa Thompson has just been presented to the home fans. Some signing, that, and the depth in Chelsea’s squad is beyond frightening for the rest of the league.
The European Championship trophy is about to be brought onto the field, with the Lionesses on both sides waiting by the touchline. They have a bond that will last forever; they are also in opposition tonight.
Lucy Bronze and Lauren James, both unavailable tonight, have joined the group for a photo. And now it’s back to business.
Man City season preview
Chelsea season preview
Team news
Australian right-back Ellie Carpenter, signed from Lyon, makes her debut for Chelsea. The bench includes Sam Kerr, out for 20 months with an ACL injury; the club’s new signing Alyssa Thompson isn’t involved tonight.
City start their new signings Sydney Lohmann and Jade Rose, with Laura Wienrother and Iman Beney on the bench. Gracie Prior and Lily Murphy, two homegrown players with a combined age of 39, are in the City XI, but the new signing Grace Clinton didn’t travel with the squad.
Chelsea (4-2-3-1) Hampton; Carpenter, Bjorn, Bright, Charles; Walsh, Kaptein; Hamano, Cuthbert, Baltimore; Beever-Jones.
Subs: Peng, Buurman, Nusken, Macario, Reiten, Rytting Kaneryd, Kerr, Jean-Francois, Potter.
Manchester City (4-2-3-1) Yamashita; Casparij, Rose, Prior, Greenwood; Hasegawa, Lohmann; Hemp, Miedema, Murphy; Shaw.
Subs: Keating, Layzell, Coombs, Wienroither, Ouahabi, Blindkilde Brown, Beney, Thomas, Lewis.
Tom Garry’s WSL preview
As the former Denmark national team coach held his first pre-match press conference at Manchester City on Wednesday afternoon, [Andrée] Jeglertz was asked if Chelsea could be stopped and whether his new team could be the team to stop them, and he replied: “I wouldn’t sit in this chair if I thought something else.
“That’s definitely something the club really wants us to do and the belief in us is big. But we will also need to grow into the season, so we also said to the players: ‘Not everything will be perfect on Friday.’ We will definitely be ready for the game but we also need to have a little bit of patience.”
Preamble
The WSL is back, folks! And with English football bathing in a post-Euros glow for the second time in three years, the level of excitement and anticipation are probably unprecedented. There are new managers, returning superstars, record signings – and a team of serial winners who want to reign on the parade.
Chelsea are aiming for a seventh straight WSL title, having rampaged to a domestic treble last season. Arsenal’s Champions League triumph will have hurt them for several reasons but in England they remain nigh-on invincible.
The first team tasked with stopping them are Manchester City, who are starting afresh under Andrée Jeglertz after a forgettable 2024-25 campaign. But they have probably been Chelsea’s biggest domestic rivals in recent times and, even in transition, have the ability to beat anybody.
The fixture computer done good: with the exception of Arsenal v Chelsea (see above), this is the best possible way to start the new season.
Kick off 7.30pm.
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