Chelsea vs Man City LIVE: WSL result and reaction after Khadija Shaw earns visitors a crucial victory
Chelsea 0-1 Manchester City: Shaw’s early goal and Khiara Keating’s late saves moved City level on points with leaders Chelsea in the title race
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Your support makes all the difference.Manchester City blew the Women’s Super League title race wide open after Khadija Shaw netted the winner in a 1-0 victory over Chelsea that took them level on points with the four-time defending champions at the summit.
The Jamaica international extended her Golden Boot-leading tally to 14 goals in 13 appearances, two more than Chelsea’s Lauren James, who was largely quiet in front of a sold-out Kingsmeadow.
Chelsea had what might have been an all-important penalty shout dismissed before the break and it took an outstanding effort by City keeper Khiara Keating to keep out the Blues in a thrilling second-half stoppage-time surge.
The top two sides head into their last eight matches level on 34 points and even on goal difference, with Chelsea’s 41 goals five more than City’s total, allowing them to remain leaders for another week.
Follow all the live action in the blog below, and get the latest odds and tips here.
Chelsea vs Man City
There were no fancy cars on show as the players arrived at the ground:
Chelsea vs Man City
We are now nearing kick off and the players will soon be heading out onto the field to warm up.
Chelsea team news
Chelsea XI: Hampton, Charles, Carter, Bjorn, Lawrence, Leupolz, Cuthbert (c), Reiten, James, Kirby, Ramirez
Subs: Musovic, Nusken, Perisset, Mjelde, Kaneryd, Buchanan, Cankovic, Beever-Jones, Ingle
Manchester City team news:
Manchester City XI: Keating, Aleixandri, Greenwood (C), Coombs, Kelly, Hemp, Ouahabi, Park, Casparij, Shaw, Hasegawa
SUBS | MacIver, Stokes, Fowler, Angeldahl, Morgan, Mace, Blindkilde-Brown, Mace, Kennedy
The players have been arriving at the ground
The players are there and the match is now just over an hour away from kicking off:
Chelsea vs Man City
The teams will be announced shortly, but a quick reminder that Chelsea are without talisman goalscorer Sam Kerr for the rest of the season after she sustained an ACL injury during warm weather training.
Gareth Taylor spoke to the media ahead of the match
“I don’t think we need to hype it up any more,” Gareth Taylor said, reported by BBC Sport.
“For us, normalising it is the sensible thing for us. When you play against Arsenal, Chelsea or Manchester United, the nerves and everything is there anyway.
“It’s a big game. It feels big. There’s no denying that. There’s no doubt the importance of the game and this is what we want, to be in this position.
“It’s when you come into it at this stage of the season and you have the opportunity to potentially go within goal difference of the league leaders. That’s exactly what we wanted.”
Emma Hayes spoke ahead of the match
“We have experience of being in this position and we understand what it takes to win titles,” Hayes said, reported by BBC Sport.
“We will have to use all of that experience in the next part, starting from tomorrow, to be in the best position possible to win another title. But one thing is for certain, the title isn’t decided over one or two games, it’s effectively breaking down the season in blocks.
“We’re in a strong position for sure, but I do not believe we are overwhelming favourites to win a title just because of our position.”
WSL title race following same pattern as Chelsea face defining test
Every year, the nature of the Women’s Super League dictates a single game or moment will define its season. If hindsight can identify where the title race was won and lost, Chelsea’s last three titles follow a theme: in 2021, their winning margin over Manchester City was two points, in 2022, Emma Hayes’s side edged Arsenal by just one point, and in 2023, against Manchester United, it was two again. As the champions now target a fifth league in a row in what is Hayes’s final season, all the evidence suggests tonight’s clash with City may be looked back on as its defining moment.
WSL title race following same pattern as Chelsea face defining test
As the top four teams in the Women’s Super League play each other this weekend, it is Chelsea’s clash with Manchester City that is likely to determine the outcome of the title race
Is Chelsea vs Man City on TV?
Chelsea host Manchester City as first meets second in a key clash in the Women’s Super League title race tonight.
Chelsea are aiming to win a fifth league title in a row in what is Emma Hayes’s final season with the Blues.
The defending champions hold a three-point lead at the top of the table after bouncing back from December’s 4-1 defeat at Arsenal.
City are in an impressive run of form under Gareth Taylor, winning seven in a row since November, and held Chelsea to a 1-1 draw earlier this season.
Is Chelsea vs Man City on TV? Channel, time and how to watch
It’s a top-of-the-table clash in the Women’s Super League as Chelsea host Man City
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