Defending champions Chelsea beat Manchester City 2-1 in the opening Women’s Super League fixture at Stamford Bridge on Friday evening.
Man City began the game brightly, giving Chelsea little time on the ball, but the hosts created the game’s first real chance after 11 minutes.
Sandy Baltimore skipped past Kerstin Casparij before putting a cross into the box, but goalkeeper Ayaka Yamashita gathered the ball before Aggie Beever-Jones could get her head on it.
The Blues went close again when Ellie Carpenter cut the ball back for Baltimore, but her shot was deflected.
Just before the half-hour mark, goalkeeper Hannah Hampton was called into action for the first time, coming out to prevent Khadija Shaw from getting on the end of a long ball.
Chelsea took the lead as Carpenter beat Alex Greenwood on the right wing, floated a low cross into the box, which Beever-Jones tapped home.
Man City almost responded with Shaw finding space, only to be denied by Hampton’s brilliant save. The Cityzens went close again on 35 minutes, as Greenwood smashed a free-kick onto the woodwork.
Three minutes after the interval, Chelsea failed to clear their lines, allowing Yui Hasegawa to hit a volley, but Hampton parried it away.
Hasegawa went close again in the 53rd minute, with her attempted back heel finish drifting wide.
Despite playing on the back foot after the break, Chelsea doubled their lead in the 64th minute, as Wieke Kaptein beat Greenwood and squared for Maika Hamano to score.
The Cityzens pulled one back five minutes later courtesy of an own goal from Niamh Charles, resulting from a corner.
Shaw nearly completed the comeback when she ran at the Blues centre-backs but could only lash her shot behind Hampton’s goal.
The defending champions saw out the rest of the game with ease to secure their first win of the season.
