Gareth Taylor’s verdict
I thought we were quality in the opening exchanges. We were really on the front foot and scored a brilliant goal – I had a feeling Chloe would score today and that we would overrun them in the first 15 minutes.
Alex’s red card changed everything. It’s frustrating, particularly when we seem to have gone from here to here (signals a big jump) all of a sudden with dishing out these yellow cards. It’s a difficult one to take, that, because the girls were magnificent defending the box against some very, very good players, who play very direct.
I felt we dealt with everything. Unfortunately at the vital moment, after Khiara had made things look really comfortable, we had Alanna off the pitch and they scored. But look, I’m so proud of the players.
We were tremendous last week at West Ham. This was a different type of game today – I was talking with Emma [Hayes] at the end. Neither of us enjoyed that, because it [the red card] is just a spoiler.
All we want to see is consistency. If that’s going to happen in a game like today, with yellow cards given at the drop of a hat, then there needs to be consistency.
Gareth Taylor stomps onto the field, chewing gum like he wants to break it. He calms down soon enough and congratulates all his players, who were a few minutes away from an extraordinary victory. The referee Emily Heaslip is roundly booed as she walks off. She sent off two City players, Alex Greenwood and Lauren Hemp. Greenwood’s was highly controversial, with Heaslip giving her a second yellow card for taking 23 seconds over a free-kick.
City started the game superbly and deserved to lead through Chloe Kelly’s goal. Even with 10 players they were in control defensively, with the teenage goalkeeper Khiara Keating oozing authority, but Hemp’s dismissal made it an almost impossible job to keep Chelsea out. Guro Reiten finally equalised in the 96th minute, and she and Sam Kerr almost won it after that. That would have been too cruel.
Full time: Man City 1-1 Chelsea
A dangerous cross from Charles is held very well by Keating, who has had an outstanding game, and that’s the last act of a uniquely dramatic game.
90+11 min: Kerr hits the post! This is astonishing. Reiten rolled Kennedy neatly in the area and was about to score when Aleixandri made an incredible tackle. Then, moments later, Perisset crossed deep to Kerr, whose swerving header back across goal hit the outside of the post!
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90+11 min We’re into the eleventh of eight added minutes.
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90+9 min Kerr misses a one-on-one, though she was offside anyway. It was a very tight call.
90+8 min Bunny Shaw does run the ball to safety and is pulled back by Cankovic, who is booked. That should be enough for City.
90+8 min Chelsea are pushing for a winner, which would be a travesty in the circumstances. James has a long-range shot blocked but City can’t get the ball away.
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It came from that Chelsea corner. Khiara Keating made an unbelievable save, diving to her right to claw Bright’s header away. But Carter kept the ball alive for Chelsea and eventually Reiten forced a right-footed shot through a phalanx of City defenders in the six-yard box.
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GOAL! Man City 1-1 Chelsea (Reiten 90+6)
Heartbreak for City, and another chorus of boos at the Joie Stadium.
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90+5 min The heroic Alanna Kennedy is treated for cramp. She has to go off for 30 seconds, which means City are down to eight players for the corner…
90+3 min: Bright hits the bar! So close to an equaliser. James’ deep cross was headed speculatively towards goal by Bright. It looped onto the top of the bar before bouncing back towards Kerr. She mishit a left-foot shot, under pressure from Hasegawa, and City eventually forced the ball behind for a corner. That looked a very good chance for Kerr, although the ball did bounce awkwardly.
90+3 min City are now playing a 5-3-0, with Bunny Shaw as the left-sided No8. But that half-time switch from Gareth Taylor has worked brilliantly.
90+2 min I’d love to know how many touches Sam Kerr has had in the second half. It might well be in single figures.
90+1 min Eight minutes of added time. Reiten’s cross is held again by Keating.
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90 min Chelsea don’t look like scoring. They’ve been poor, but City’s defending in the second half has been exceptional.
89 min Perisset threads a good ball down the inside-right channel to Kirby, who hits a first-time cross on the turn. It takes a slight deflection and Keating dives in front of Millie Bright to grab the ball.
88 min Bright’s looping header is easily saved by Keating. She hasn’t had a huge amount to do, particularly in the second half, but she has been so calm.
86 min Millie Bright is playing up front with Sam Kerr. A long cross from the right is claimed with authority by Keating, who has been so impressive for a 19-year-old in such a huge game.
86 min Bizarrely, City have had their best attacking spell of the second half since going down to nine.
85 min: City substitution Julie Blakstad replaces Jill Roord, who has run herself into the ground.
84 min: Chance for City! Bunny Shaw almost makes it two. Mace skipped past Cankovic on the right and cut the ball back to Shaw, who met the ball just after it bounced and clipped it over the bar on the stretch. The referee decides that the Chelsea defender, Charles I think, got a touch so it’s a corner for City. Nothing comes of it.
83 min The resulting free-kick was pushed bravely round the post by Keating, diving in front of a Chelsea player at the far post. This is chaos.
82 min Hemp’s first yellow was for dissent. The second was pretty straightforward, in truth, a deliberate pull on James. Chloe Kelly comes across to walk Hemp down the tunnel, and now the City manager Gareth Taylor has been booked. The atmosphere is pretty toxic.
City are down to nine! Hemp has been sent off!
81 min Lauren Hemp pulls back Lauren James 22 yards from goal and is given a second yellow card. City are down to nine players.
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80 min Cankovic’s crossfield pass is controlled on the run by James, who scoots into the area. Hemp and Kennedy get between her and the ball, knowing they’re about to be flattened, which allows Keating to come out and claim.
79 min: Double substitution for City Ruby Mace and Bunny Shaw replace Filippa Angeldahl and the goalscorer Chloe Kelly, who gets a great hand from the home fans.
78 min: James hits the bar! She’s been quiet all day, and then Lauren James produces a moment of brilliance from nowhere. She wandered infield from the right, played a one-two with Cankovic and waved a nonchalant, left-footed curler from 25 yards. It beat the leaping Keating and clattered off the bar.
78 min It looks like Keating was treated for cramp. Play has resumed now.
76 min Keating stays down after collecting a through ball. It’s so hard to know whether it’s timewasting or a genuine injury, and they can’t make a goalkeeper go off the field for 30 seconds so if it is timewasting it’s a free hit. She’s receiving treatment either way.
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75 min I can barely remember Kerr touching the ball since she came on at half-time. It’s not happening for Chelsea at all.
74 min Chelsea take a quick free-kick to Charles, who skips past Aleixandri on the edge of the area. Morgan comes across to boot the ball away.
73 min A rare break for City. Kelly tries to run the last defender Carter, who sticks with her and makes a terrific tackle on the edge of the area.
72 min Chelsea continue to move the ball from side to side, looking for an eye in the City needle. Charles slides a good ball to the overlapping Reiten, but her cross is overhit. City are defending admirably.
70 min: Chelsea substitution Eve Perisset replaces Ashley Lawrence at right-back.
69 min Lawrence wins the ball off Hemp in a dangerous position but then slices her cross behind for a goalkick.
67 min Kirby wins a corner for Chelsea, though City disagree with the decision and now Hemp is booked for dissent. She’s the fourth City player to be sanctioned thus.
66 min Chelsea’s attacking play has been too narrow. It feels like Lawrence and Reiten are the key to them getting back in the game.
65 min In fact, the only shot on target in the second half has been from Chloe Kelly.
64 min For all Chelsea’s possession, Keating hasn’t had a difficult save to make in the second half. There’s still a long way to go, but City are doing okay.
63 min As I type that, Hemp does well to block Lawrence’s cross, which loops into the hands of Keating. She’s not moving freely though.
62 min Hemp is back on the field and seems okay to carry on.
61 min Hemp walks slowly to the sideline, feeling her right shoulder. She wants to continue.
60 min: Double substitution for Chelsea Melanie Leupolz and Fran Kirby come on for Erin Cuthbert and Jessie Fleming.
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59 min Hemp is still receiving treatment. The problem was the fall rather than the challenge, and it looks like she has injured her right shoulder.
57 min Lawrence is a bit lucky not to be booked for a late tackle on Hemp. “Cheat, cheat, cheat,” chant some of the home fans.
56 min City’s 5-3-1 formation gives them a degree of security but they are struggling to get out.
54 min “There should be a set limit, like 25 seconds in tennis, before a yellow card, so the players know where they stand,” suggests Peter Gartner.
I like that idea in theory but it would soon get complicated. With football, it always does.
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53 min Reiten’s deep cross is headed back across goal by Kerr and confidently claimed by the flying Keating. For a teenage goalkeeper she looks very composed.
52 min Plenty of pressure from Chelsea now. Cuthbert collects a clearance on the edge of the area, cuts across Angeldahl and lashes a shot over the bar. Good effort.
49 min James, who is playing in a central position now, has too much time to receive Reiten’s square pass, move into the area and ping a shot that is crucially blocked by Kennedy. That looked like it was going in the far corner.
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48 min “The second yellow was one I think the ref had to give with the new rules,” writes Carol McCluskey. “There was a corner that Greenwood and Kelly were over earlier and I think I heard the ref shouting at Greenwood to hurry up. With the clampdown on time wasting, why was the Chelsea team allowed to go over and get instructions from Hayes after the sending off? Surely Man City could have just started to play? Although a number of their players did seem to lose their heads.”
That’s a good point. It wasn’t clear on TV whether City were looking to restart the game.
47 min Chloe Kelly, playing up front on her own now, runs onto a good pass form Hemp, cuts inside Carter and cracks a low drive from the edge of the area. Musovic crouches to make a comfortable save.
46 min Peep peep! City begin the second half. It looks like they’ve gone to a back three with Aleixandri and Lauren Hemp as wing-backs.
Both teams have made half-time substitutions
Man City Kerstin Casparij for Mary Fowler.
Chelsea Sam Kerr and Jelena Cankovic for Mia Fishel and Sophie Ingle.
I’ve checked the red card again. Alex Greenwood had wasted, if that’s the right word, 23 seconds when the referee sent her off. You be the judge.
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Now Jill Roord has been booked for dissent at the half-time whistle. This is dramatic, controversial and very funny.
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Half time: Man City 1-0 Chelsea
Peep peep! The half-time whistle elicits loud boos at the Joie Stadium, which might need to be temporarily renamed. City are ahead through Chloe Kelly’s deflected shot, but they are down to 10 after Alex Greenwood received a second yellow card for timewasting. Three players were also booked for dissent, so we could have more red cards in the second half.
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45+3 min Reiten’s inviting low cross is met by the stretching Fishel at the near post, but she can’t connect properly under pressure from Kennedy and the ball dribbles across goal and wide.
45+1 min Three minutes of added time.
45 min City’s 10 women look comfortable as half-time approaches. It could be a long second half though. Apparently Chloe Kelly was also booked for dissent when Greenwood was sent off.
43 min As always, the problem with these new directives is consistency. I suspect Greenwood was faffing rather than timewasting, but she did stand over the ball for a long time. Most people think it was a ridiculous decision, but given the new advice for referees, I’m not sure she had that much choice. Whether the directive is a good idea is another matter.
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40 min City have moved Morgan to centre-back and Angeldahl to right-back, at least until half-time.
39 min Greenwood was on the ball for over 20 seconds, so given the new directives I think that’s a fair enough decision. It’s fair to City most of the people at the Joie Stadium don’t agree.
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Greenwood sent off for timewasting!
38 min Oh my word, it’s all kicking off here. Aleixandri has been booked for dissent as well. The City captain Alex Greenwood, who was booked earlier for a fairly innocuous foul, took her time over a free-kick and was given a second yellow card by Emily Heaslip. It’s a very brave decision; whether it’s the right one, who knows.
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38 min Lauren James has been very quiet. I’m not sure she’s at her best when she starts out wide, particularly on the right.
35 min Charles is booked for a poor tackle on Kelly.
34 min Fowler wins a corner at the other end. It’s taken short to Kelly, whose cross is headed well wide from 15 yards by Aleixandri.
31 min Reiten’s near-post corner is met by Charles, whose header is blocked by Fowler. It wouldn’t have counted as Carter had been penalised for fouling Greenwood.
30 min Reiten wins another corner for Chelsea, who have belatedly woken up. The corner comes to nothing, but Cuthbert soon wins another with a shot from the edge of the area that deflects behind.
27 min Actually, replays show that Keating’s footwork across her line was excellent, which is why Ingle’s headear ended up going straight at her feet.
25 min: Chance for Chelsea! Cuthbert corner is only half cleared. James has a long-range shot blocked, then Charles stands up a lovely cross towards Ingle. She stoops to plant a downward header that is desperately saved by Keating. It’s a good save, though the placement of Ingle’s header might have been better.
25 min That’s better from Chelsea. Fleming plays a give-and-go with Reiten and drives a low cross towards Fishel at the near post. Greenwood gets across to knock the ball behind for a corner, a vital intervention.
21 min Chelsea have been surprisingly ponderous, both with and without the ball. They’ll wake up at some stage, so City ideally need to strike again while they’re on top.
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17 min Greenwood is booked for a late tackle on Fleming.
15 min It’s all City at the moment. Angeldahl’s cross isn’t cleared properly by Carter, but Fowler can’t find an angle for the shot.
14 min Fishel wins Chelsea’s first corner. Cuthbert takes, Keating punches away.
12 min Greenwood’s free-kick is straight at Musovic.
11 min James blunders into Aleixandri just outside the area and is booked. This is a chance for City…
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10 min Chelsea haven’t got going yet, and City look much more dynamic in transition.
8 min Ah, replays show that Kelly’s shot took a deflection off the stretching Jess Carter, which is why it started to wobble before it got to Musovic. It certainly wasn’t a howler from Musovic, but for such a good keeper Musovic does get beaten above her head a fair bit.
PICK THAT OUT! 🔥
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) October 8, 2023
Chloe Kelly with an absolute worldie for Man City 🎯🤯#BBCFootball #WSL pic.twitter.com/sy9UcZ89uh
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Fowler cut inside from the right and gave the ball to Kelly, 25 yards out. She moved away from Cuthbert, realised nobody else was coming to challenge and decided to have a pop. She caught it beautifully – when doesn’t she – and it flew over the leaping Musovic.
GOAL! Man City 1-0 Chelsea (Kelly 7)
Chloe Kelly puts City ahead with a belter!
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6 min City have a terrific record at home; their last defeat was a 4-0 thumping by Chelsea in November 2021. Chelsea were well beaten here in the league in March.
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4 min The corner is cleared but City put it back in the box at their earliest convenience. After a bit of head tennis, Hemp backpedals to slice a volley that is pushed away by Musovic, diving to her right. That was a slightly tougher save.
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3 min An early half chance for City. Hemp pulls left to put in a cross that is headed away by Bright to the edge of the area. Roord collects and hits a deflected shot that is pushed away by Musovic and booted behind by Bright.
1 min Chelsea have started with Lauren James on the right. It looks like Jessie Fleming is playing as the No10 in a 4-2-3-1. City are 4-3-3, as per
1 min Peep peep! Chelsea kick off from left to right as we watch.
There’s a minute’s silence before the game in memory of City legend Franny Lee, who died this week aged 79.
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The players walk on to the field on a lovely autumn day in Manchester. There’s a sell-out crowd of around 7,000 at the Joie Stadium.
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As does the Man City manager Gareth Taylor
It’s great that we’ve got a really good squad – everyone is fully fit apart from Demi [Stokes]. The supporters play a big part in [City’s outstanding home record]. They really get behind us in the good moments and the bad, which allows us to be the best version of ourselves.
Emma Hayes speaks to the BBC
The players who are starting know what their roles are. This is a tough place to come, it’ll be a packed crowd, so we’ll have to use our experience, particularly in the first part of the game. We’ve got players who can come from the bench and make a difference.
It’s a landmark day for two Chelsea midfielders. Erin Cuthbert makes her 200th appearance for the club and Jessie Fleming her 100th.
Set for her 𝟮𝟬𝟬𝘁𝗵 Chelsea appearance! 😍#CFCW pic.twitter.com/cIX06YCaYQ
— Chelsea FC Women (@ChelseaFCW) October 8, 2023
Jessie Fleming: into the Chelsea 💯 club! #CFCW pic.twitter.com/xrosfbShZA
— Chelsea FC Women (@ChelseaFCW) October 8, 2023
Another plug for Louise Taylor’s preview
Key event
City make two changes from the win at West Ham. Esme Morgan replaces the suspended Leila Ouahabi in defence, and Filippa Angeldahl is preferred to Deyna Castellanos in midfield. Bunny Shaw is indeed on the bench.
As is Chelsea’s Sam Kerr, which means the impressive Mia Fishel keeps her place up front. Emma Hayes makes three changes from the Spurs game a week ago. Ashley Lawrence, signed from PSG in the summer, Erin Cuthbert and Jessie Fleming come in for Maren Mjedle, Sjoeke Nusken and Johanna Rytting Kaneryd.
Manchester City (possible 4-3-3) Keating; Morgan, Kennedy, Greenwood, Aleixandri; Angeldahl, Hasegawa, Roord; Fowler, Hemp, Kelly.
Substitutes: MacIver, Houghton, Coombs, Castellanos, Park, Casparij, Shaw, Mace, Blakstad
Chelsea (possible 4-2-3-1) Musovic; Lawrence, Carter, Bright, Charles; Cuthbert, Ingle; James, Fleming, Reiten; Fishel.
Substitutes: Berger, Nusken, Leupolz, Perisset, Kirby, Mjelde, Kaneryd, Canvkovic, Kerr.
Referee Emily Heaslip.
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Preamble
Hello and welcome to live coverage of Manchester City v Chelsea at the Joie Stadium. Autumn fixtures between potential title challengers are often as much about making statements as collecting points. City hope to show that, after a couple of disappointing seasons, they are equipped to be Chelsea’s biggest rivals again; Chelsea would prefer to demonstrate that, when it comes to winning the WSL, they don’t have any rivals.
The champions, aiming for a fifth consecutive title, started with a highly entertaining 2-1 win over Spurs last weekend. City beat West Ham 2-0 despite the sending off of Leila Ouahabi in the second half. The victories were made sweeter by the fact their big summer signings – and, in City’s case, only signing – scored on their debut: Mia Fishel for Chelsea, Jill Roord for City.
Two established strikers, Bunny Shaw and Sam Kerr, should return from injury today, though they’ll probably start on the bench. We’ll find out any second now.
Kick off 12.30pm.
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