Chelsea dropped points in a disappointing draw in the WSL last Sunday as Manchester United battled back to take a point at Leigh Sports Village. Despite Sam Kerr scoring her first of the season after great work from Fran Kirby, United dug in and claimed a precious reward as Leah Galton tapped home late on. Meg reviews the talking points:
1. Super Fran Returns
Chelsea’s first FA Women’s Super League match of the season vs United was also Fran Kirby’s first league match since November 2019 which was also against United.
Just like in the game against City in the Community Shield Final, Fran Kirby played like she hasn’t missed a game and with coming back she can be better than she ever was before.
Fran Kirby is my favourite women’s player of all time and to see her back on that pitch made me and all Chelsea Women supporters very happy as it’s been a long time coming.
Fran had so much energy during the game and she was constantly on the ball, bringing it forward and trying to find those passes which she did well to assist Sam’s goal.
She does need a little bit of work still but then she hasn’t played full-time football in such a long time so a bit of work is to be expected but still she proved that she is still Mini Messi and to see her back to her best will be so important moving forward with the season.
2. Defensive Issues
The game highlighted some defensive issues that with the transfer window still open it would be good to strengthen up our defence with some more signings to keep up with the top teams not only in England but in Europe as we have the Champions League to play for this season.
The player that all big teams want is Lucy Bronze who definitely would help our defence out a lot but it will be interesting to see whether she goes back to City or we are lucky enough to get her at Chelsea. (Editor’s Note: She has since returned to Manchester City.)
What many fans noticed was the lack of linkups going down the left side of the pitch with Andersson not completing enough chances on the left wing of the which would have created more chances with the ball being brought forward to players who could create and score these chances.
The defence definitely could have done with Maria Thorisdottir, who was missing from the lineup and bench and on big occasions, she has proved why she is one of the best in the league and in the squad.
3. A Good First Half…
The first half was positive with Sam Kerr scoring the first half with an assist from Fran Kirby. The players made it hard for United to get on the ball and get it back all throughout the first half which is a big positive in terms of moving forward.
Although the first half was strong in performance there were some chances that usually the players should be scoring. There were some chances wasted in the first half that we should have capitalised on especially when we were on top to get the win to start the season off on the right foot.
Melanie Leupolz is proving to be a fantastic signing for us, within two games she has improved the team already and she played really well against United, which is a huge positive.
The first game back after the break is expected to be rusty for some especially with the break from last season being unusually longer than first expected.
4. But a Poor Second Half
Unlike the first half, the second half was poor from the players, many chances were missed in the second half and the players lacked the finishing they needed to score the goals from the balls that Fran was bringing forward.
When Sam came off at the 66th, you could see that the performance got worse after she came off, with Sam on the pitch we were pinning United defence back and it created many more chances that we could have scored.
Manchester United was the better team in the second half with their equaliser that was scored in the 79th minute. Manchester United since being promoted up to the WSL have shown that they are a really strong side and showed it in this game.
I and many knew it was going to be a tough game but after winning the Community Shield, I thought it was going to be much easier than it was.
5. Positives to take onto Bristol City
Although the result wasn’t what fans expected and wanted out of the first league match back especially with Arsenal and Manchester City winning their first game, there are positives we can take out of the match. Fran Kirby is the main positive, having her back as many have said is like having a brand new signing for us and we have proved that we can perform without Fran but having her back will make us a lot stronger.
Erin Cuthbert also played well on her 100th appearance for the club, she created many chances and did have plenty to score which sadly she didn’t capitalise on them but it shows she is willing to take all chances and with the season being back the players will start to improve and the game would have been different if she had started.
It was great to see Pernille Harder get some minutes, she came on the 80th minute and with the little time she was on she impacted the game, she was very sharp and fast which is just what we needed in this game. It would have been nice to see her play some more minutes as she looked more likely in the second half to unlock things for the team.
Not surprisingly Beth played well for the 20 or so minutes she played which shows why she is our main striker above Sam at the moment. Hopefully, she will be back fully fit soon to be able to start and play longer which will help us against the big teams in the league.
Onto the next game!
Written By: Meg Aherne (@meggaherne)
Edited By: Ross-John (RJ) Bonaccorsi (@RJ_Goodthings) and Rob Pratley (@rjpjournalism)