Chelsea's hopes of retaining the Women's Super League title were all but ended at the hands of the London City Lionesses on Saturday afternoon, with the Blues pegged back to a 1-1 draw at The Den. Despite taking the lead early in the first half, Sonia Bompastor's decision to leave her heavy hitters on the bench cost her, with the hosts stepping up their efforts in the second half to claw back a point.
Unsurprisingly, it was Chelsea who made the faster start, controlling the ball and testing Lionesses goalkeeper Elene Lete early on. Aggie Beever-Jones saw an effort saved inside the opening 15 minutes, while the hosts dealt with a handful of dangerous corners from the WSL champions. But the Blues did not have to wait much longer before they found their breakthrough. Johanna Rytting Kaneryd showed a burst of pace to blitz through the middle of the Lioness defence, bearing down on goal and easing the ball into the back of the net.
To their credit, the Lionesses refused to buckle. After getting into half-time only a goal down, they emerged back into the sunshine with renewed energy, and put Chelsea on the back foot for large periods of the second half. A barrage of attempts at Hannah Hampton in goal prompted head coach Sonia Bompastor into changes, introducing three powerhouses in Keira Walsh, Lucy Bronze and Naomi Girma.
But the reinforcements only appeared to make things worse. The Lionesses equalised with 10 minutes to go, Isobel Goodwin rising highest to head the ball past Hampton and level the contest. It was a frantic finish from there, with both sides pushing to see if they could find a winner. In the end, the points were shared, effectively ending Chelsea's bid to retain the title, with Manchester City cruising past Tottenham on the same afternoon.
GOAL rates Chelsea's players from The Den...