Reigning Women's Super League champions Chelsea began their defence with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over title rivals Manchester City.
On an entertaining opening night - where Chelsea introduced their new £1m signing Alyssa Thompson before kick-off - the Blues scored two slick goals either side of the break, similar in nature, to secure Sonia Bompastor a record-breaking 20th WSL win.
The Frenchwoman becomes the quickest manager in the competition's history to reach that total, despite being pushed all the way by City, who played aggressively in the style of new head coach Andree Jeglertz.
Bunny Shaw squandered a handful of efforts, while Yui Hasegawa and Lily Murphy were denied by Chelsea's faultless goalkeeper, Hannah Hampton, with strikes from Aggie Beever-Jones and Maika Hamano at the opposite end ensuring a perfect start for the Londoners at Stamford Bridge.
More to follow...
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Chelsea 1-0 Man City
Chelsea's new signing Ellie Carpenter assisted Aggie Beever-Jones who scored the first goal of the 2025/26 Women's Super League season at Stamford Bridge against Manchester City.
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Maika Hamano scores Chelsea's second in WSL opener
Maika Hamano scored Chelsea's second in their Women's Super League opener against Manchester City.
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Chelsea 2-1 Man City
Niamh Charles scored an own goal in Chelsea's Women's Super League opener against Manchester City.