Champions Chelsea overcame a nervy final 20 minutes to get their WSL campaign underway with victory over Manchester City at Stamford Bridge.
The home side broke the deadlock in the 31st minute as Ellie Carpenter, a close-season signing from French side Olympique Lyonnais, swept up the right wing before squaring the ball for striker Aggie Beever-Jones to steer home.
City’s Alex Greenwood came close to levelling as her powerful left-footed free kick thumped off the crossbar, with Chelsea goalkeeper Hannah Hampton beaten.
It was to prove a costly miss as Wieke Kaptein got away from Greenwood after the break before sending a perfect pass through the middle for Maika Hamano to drill past her Japanese international teammate Ayaka Yamashita, doubling the Blues’ lead.
Chelsea’s Niamh Charles threw the visitors a lifeline when she steered the ball into her own net six minutes later, but though City piled on the pressure, they couldn’t find another goal.
Their evening ended on an even lower note when Greenwood and Lily Murphy both had to be replaced after suffering injuries late on, leaving Chelsea to celebrate a winning start as they seek a seventh league title in a row.
Reuters
