The Blues will go into the winter break unbeaten and at the top of the Women's Super League table after Sonia Bompastor's side came from behind to draw 1-1 with Leicester City at the King Power Stadium.
For the first time this season, Bompastor's side conceded the opening goal in a league match with Leicester going 1-0 up through Missy Goodwin after 20 minutes.
Yet the Blues had been in control for most of the game, but failed to make it count up until the 77th minute when Wieke Kaptein levelled the scoring with a stunning strike. A vital goal, as the 19-year-old's effort helped claim us a point and kept our unbeaten run intact.
We now sit six points clear at the top of the table, winning nine of our games and drawing one, but will have to wait until tomorrow's WSL fixtures conclude to find out if we will take that advantage into the winter break.
Changes made
Bompastor made seven changes to her XI for our final league match of the calendar year following our midweek UEFA Champions League win over FC Twente. Hannah Hampton, Ashley Lawrence, Lucy Bronze, Kaptein, Sjoeke Nusken, Guro Reiten and Johanna Rytting Kaneryd were all introduced to the starting line-up.
Our first opportunity arrived when a quickly taken free-kick saw Maika Hamano square the ball across the face of goal from the byline to an incoming Reiten, but the Norwegian could not keep her effort and it sailed over the bar.
Soon after, a recycled ball from a corner eventually dropped to the feet of Reiten, who was unlucky not to give us the lead. She unleashed a rocket of a strike from distance which came back off the woodwork.
But, it was the home side who took the lead through their early substitute Goodwin. The Foxes worked the ball down the left flank, before sending it into the box where at the back post the forward buried the ball beyond Hampton, making it 1-0.
Leicester went close to adding another only two minutes later when Hannah Cain sent in a cross, looking to catch the Blues goalkeeper out as it drifted goalwards, however, Hampton gathered the ball and averted the danger.
Despite the Blues being in control, Leicester kept us at bay with only a few meaningful opportunities created. One such chance came minutes before half-time when Mayra Ramirez showed a burst of pace to carry the ball into the box, before picking out Hamano, but before the ball could reach her team-mate it was smothered by the home goalkeeper.
Looking for a leveller
With her side behind, Bompastor made two changes at half-time with Niamh Charles coming on for her second league appearance of the season in place of Lawrence, while Catarina Macario replaced Hamano.
After the restart, the Blues applied plenty of pressure in Leicester's half, with the ball rarely leaving that area, but other than a series of corners and several blocked efforts, the visitors could not find a way to break down the defence.
Our best effort of the second half came to substitute Aggie Beever-Jones, who came on just after the hour mark. After being picked out by Lucy Bronze, Kaptein sent an inviting cross into the box and our forward's header dropped just wide of the target.
There was a Blues debut for Alejandra Bernabe with 16 minutes left to be played as the defender came on to replace Nathalie Bjorn.
And within seconds of coming on the Spanish player looked to make an immediate impact as she sent a chipped cross towards Macario in the box where the American forward saw her header gathered by Leicester goalkeeper Leitzig.
The leveller soon arrived, though, and it came from Kaptein. The young Dutch midfielder was provided space to drive forward and she punished our opponents for letting her do so as she unleashed a strike from 25 yards out which crashed into the back of the net. 1-1!
After equalising, the Blues pressed for a winner. Beever-Jones went close to putting us ahead, but saw a close-range effort blocked before guiding a header from a corner over the bar. Ramirez also saw a strike saved by Leitzig at her near post.
Bernabe had impressed since coming on for her maiden appearance and even had two chances to net the match-winner in injury time when she latched on to the cross at the back post, however, she could only direct her effort into the side-netting and then glanced a header just wide.
And in the dying minutes, Nusken had glorious opportunities to net the winner when she was in space inside the box and found by Ramirez, but the German midfielder hit her effort over the bar and had a header collected by Leitzig.
What it means
The draw against Leicester means we go into the winter break as the only unbeaten side in the WSL. Bompastor's side sit atop the table with 28 points from a possible 30.
What next
Our final game of 2024 sees us travel to Spain to face Real Madrid in our last Group B match in the UEFA Champions League. With our passage to the quarter-finals already secured, it will be a battle top spot with the Blues needing to avoid defeat against Las Blancas.
We will return to WSL action in the New Year when we face West Ham United at the Chigwell Construction Stadium on 19 January.
The teams
Leicester City: Leitzig; Ale, Howard, Kees, Thibaud, Mace, Cayman, Rose (Goodwin 11)(Sherwood 90), Momiki, Cain (O'Brien 68), Takarada (Las 69)
Unused substitutes: Kop, Nevin, Pelgander, Swaby, Kaczmar
Scorers: Goodwin 20
Booked: Howard 45+1, O'Brien 84
Chelsea: Hampton; Bronze, Bjorn (Bernabe 74), Bright, Lawrence (Charles 46), Nusken, Kaptein, Rytting Kaneryd, Hamano (Macario 46), Reiten (Beever-Jones 62), Ramirez
Unused substitutes: Musovic, Cox, Perisset, Jean-Francois, Brown
Scorers: Kaptein 77