The Sonia Bompastor era at Chelsea got off to a winning start as the Blues edged out Aston Villa 1-0 in their Women’s Super League season opener. Despite missing the guiding hand of Emma Hayes, Chelsea continued their winning ways with a hard-fought victory at Kingsmeadow on Friday night.
Chelsea started brightly, with Guro Reiten coming close early on, flashing two efforts wide of the post. However, as the game progressed, Villa grew into the contest, showcasing signs of the new style implemented by their head coach, Robert de Pauw, over the summer. Both sides showed signs of rust, as expected on the opening day of the season, with neither team fully clicking.
The match’s turning point came just after a flurry of fireworks behind the main stand, providing a spark that the game had been missing. Minutes later, Johanna Rytting Kaneryd produced a moment of magic, unleashing a stunning solo goal to put Chelsea in front.
In the dying moments, Villa pushed for an equalizer, with Rachel Daly coming agonizingly close, only to be denied by a brilliant save from Chelsea’s England goalkeeper, Hannah Hampton. Hampton made another crucial save moments later, stopping Villa’s goalkeeper Sabrina D’Angelo, ensuring that Bompastor’s first match in charge ended in victory.
While Chelsea weren’t at their best, Hampton’s heroics and Kaneryd’s strike were enough to start the new era with three points.
