Manchester City side suffers a 2-1 defeat in WSL opener, with goals from Aggie Beever-Jones and Maika Hamano securing Chelsea's victory
In a thrilling encounter at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea Women began their title defence in the 2025-26 Women's Super League (WSL) season with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Manchester City. The Blues extended their unbeaten run to 26 games, third only to Chelsea's own record and that of Manchester City in WSL history.
The game started on a tense note with England's Euro 2025-winning goalkeeper, Hannah Hampton, making a save for Chelsea early in the match. However, the deadlock was broken in the 10th minute when Niamh Charles scored an own goal for Chelsea.
Chelsea responded swiftly, with Ellie Carpenter supplying the cross for Aggie Beever-Jones to score the equaliser, assisted by Nathalie Bjorn. The first half ended with a close call for Manchester City as Alex Greenwood rattled the crossbar with a free-kick.
The second half saw Manchester City step up their game, taking 17 shots compared to Chelsea's 8. Despite the numerical advantage, the expected goals (xG) battle was narrowly in Chelsea's favour (1.23 to 1.4). Chelsea got their second goal somewhat against the run of play in the 64th minute, with Wieke Kaptein providing the assist for Maika Hamano to score.
Manchester City failed to capitalise on Chelsea's brief period of struggling after the own goal, and the game ended 2-1 in favour of the Blues. The match also saw Manchester City lose Alex Greenwood and Lily Murphy to injuries late in the game.
It is worth noting that Chelsea's current WSL winning streak began after the departure of Emma Hayes, with her replacement, Bompastor, reaching 20 WSL wins in the fewest games (23). Bompastor has surpassed former Arsenal coach Jonas Eidevall's record of 25 games to reach this milestone.
The Blues started the season with a win over a potential title rival, marking a promising start to their title defence. The identity of the coach who led Chelsea to their first Women's Super League victory in the 2025-26 season after Emma Hayes’ departure is not explicitly named in the search results. However, the mystery coach will undoubtedly be a topic of interest as the season progresses.
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