Leicester City put a stop to Chelsea‘s perfect start in the Women’s Super League (WSL) on Saturday as the two sides drew 1-1 at the King Power Stadium.
Coming into the game on the back of four straight WSL defeats, there was little to suggest the Foxes would be the first team to take points off the reigning champions this season, but an early goal and some inspired goalkeeping from Janina Leitzig gave them a valuable point.
Missy Goodwin, who was brought on in the 11th minute for Deanne Rose, put Leicester ahead less than ten minutes later when she found the bottom-left corner of the net with a powerful finish from the centre of the box.
Chelsea, who were looking for a record-breaking tenth consecutive WSL win, finally responded in the 77th minute, as Wieke Kaptein‘s stellar long-range shot levelled proceedings.
Sonia Bompastor’s side spent the rest of the match camped in Leicester’s final third chasing a winner to maintain the former Lyon head coach’s immaculate start since joining the Blues in the summer. However, a combination of resolute defending from the hosts and some profligate finishing, in particular from Sjoeke Nüsken, saw the spoils shared at the full-time whistle.
“For sure frustrated about the performance today,” Bompastor said after the draw. “When we talk about ambition, we need to turn words into actions. I need my players to be ready from the beginning of the game.
“If you analyse this game, the first half was not intense enough from us. We did not show our intentions and I think we got punished for that. The second half was better, we created more chances and opportunities, but we only scored one. We were not efficient enough to win this game.”
The result lifts Leicester to 10th with six points, while Chelsea remain in first place with 28 points, six clear of Manchester City who have a game in hand.
Information from Reuters contributed to this report.
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