You can always count on top-of-the-table clashes to provide scintillating drama. It was an enigmatic start, an enthralling opening 37 minutes for Manchester City, before it all looked to be derailed by two red cards.
Yet somehow, a nine-player City clung to their 1-0 lead against a Chelsea side that seemed to lack fight until the 95th minute, when Guro Reiten scored to cancel out Chloe Kelly’s early goal.
A depleted City remain undefeated in 20 Women’s Super League home games, although this will be little consolation for the poor officiating that threatened this record.
Leila Ouahabi was sent off last weekend in the 2-0 win at West Ham and the dismissals of the England duo Alex Greenwood and Lauren Hemp took their tally to three red cards after two games of the season. It is a statistic that Gareth Taylor will not be pleased with.
The result is not a calamity for Chelsea, with a second draw to start the season unlikely to derail their charge for a fifth consecutive title. But failing to defeat City when everything was in their favour will ring alarm bells for Emma Hayes.
It took only six minutes for Kelly to open the scoring. Mary Fowler danced around the edge of the box before feeding Kelly, who finished expertly. Taking a deflection off Jess Carter’s outstretched leg, Kelly lofted the ball inches out of Zecira Musovic’s reach. The goal gave City something to hold on to when their afternoon began to crumble.
Greenwood was booked in the 17th minute for a foul. Twenty minutes later, the referee, Emily Heaslip, showed the captain a second yellow for time-wasting at a free-kick. It took about 30 seconds between the free-kick being awarded and the referee pulling out her card. Kelly, Laia Aleixandri and Jill Roord were subsequently booked for dissent.
The inconsistencies in the officiating were apparent. A hefty challenge from Ashley Lawrence on Hemp seemed to warrant a yellow for the Canada full-back but no booking was given, further angering an irate crowd. Minutes later, Hemp was booked for dissent.
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Lauren James nearly levelled for Chelsea when she rattled the crossbar but City’s lead looked even more vulnerable when an innocuous foul led to a second yellow for Hemp. Taylor was booked for dissent.
Khiara Keating had retained her starting spot after keeping a clean sheet against West Ham but was denied a second in the sixth minute of added time when a scramble in the box allowed Reiten to slip the ball in at the near post.