Chelsea beat Leicester City 1-0 at Kingsmeadow this afternoon but seemed to lack their usual dominant performance.
Before the match began, a minute’s silence was observed to pay respect to former Chelsea and Liverpool manager, Matt Beard who passed away on Saturday.
As it happened
The Blues wasted no time to get ahead. Chelsea’s Aggie Beever-Jones struck the ball over Janina Leitzig just seven minutes into the match. The goal marks three goals in three consecutive matches for her. Chelsea’s aggressive style of play continued through the first half with Ellie Carpenter, who narrowly missed the goal just minutes after Beever-Jones’ strike.
However, Leicester City bounced back with aggression. Julie Thibaud had an early chance at goal but struck too high. The Foxes attempted to equalise once more in the first half, as Emily van Egmond struck the ball over the crossbar. Leicester City showed confidence in their performance and they did not back down despite conceding a goal early on. Their performance in this match displayed perhaps an unexpected level of conviction. Chelsea have dominated the WSL for six years, yet Leicester City did not seem intimidated going against such a formidable team.
Two minutes into the second half, the crowd erupted into applause to commemorate Matt Beard as a sign of respect from the fans for a man who helped so many young women find their place in the WSL under his leadership.
In the second half, Leicester’s Leitzig was put under pressure several times. Erin Cuthbert headed a cross from Alyssa Thompson but was denied by the German between the sticks.
Leicester continued in their attempts to equalise throughout the second half, keeping Chelsea’s Hannah Hampton on edge. A wide shot from Thibaud reignited the Foxes’ aggression.
A final attempt to equalise came in stoppage time for Leicester City from Rosella Ayane. Hampton tipped the ball onto the cross-bar to secure another win for Chelsea.
The lineups
CHE: Hampton; Bjorn, Bright, Buurman, Carpenter, Cuthbert, Walsh, Baltimore, Kaptein, Macario; Beaver-Jones
LEI: Leitzig; Thibaud, Boureille, Cayman, Ale, McLaughlin, Tierney, Payne, Van Egmond, Eiríksdóttir; Cain