Chelsea climb WSL top after beating Manchester City

Baltimore strike seals win

Sandy Baltimore scored the only goal in added time during the first half stoppage. She collected a pass from Ellie Carpenter on the right side before firing a shot into the net above goalkeeper Ayaka Yamashita. Chelsea had 28 league goals before this fixture while City had 27. The match ended with Chelsea holding a one-point lead over second-placed Manchester City after ten games each.

City reduced to ten players

Manchester City goalkeeper Ayaka Yamashita received a straight red card in the 75th minute for clattering into Chelsea forward Alyssa Thompson. The referee sent her off after she raced outside her area and made contact with the runner. Eartha Cumings replaced the suspended keeper as City played the closing stages with ten players on the field. Manager Andrée Jeglertz stated that small details decided the tight game between two great football teams.

Chelsea make defensive change

Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor substituted centre-back Kadeisha Buchanan for Veerle Buurman just twelve minutes into the match. She claimed Buchanan suffered a knock to her head during training contact with a teammate earlier that day. The Canadian defender was not herself according to Bompastor who felt forced to make the substitution. Buurman then nullified the threat of Khadija Shaw effectively for the remainder of the contest.