Chelsea hold their nerve to defeat title rivals Manchester City at Kingsmeadow | OneFootball

Chelsea held their nerve to record a 2-0 victory over Barclays Women’s Super League title rivals Manchester City at Kingsmeadow this afternoon.

The Blues weren’t at their fluent best but a Fran Kirby goal in the first half followed by a second half penalty from Maren Mjelde sealed the three points for the hosts.

Chelsea went close inside the first minute at Kingsmeadow but Sam Kerr couldn’t direct her effort on target. It was Kerr who then spurned another opportunity when she was passed the ball by Steph Houghton but she opted to lay it off to Kirby rather than shoot, allowing the visiting defence to recover.

From that point forward, the first half was dominated by Gareth Taylor’s Manchester City side. The Cityzens threw everything at the Chelsea goal but they were guilty of not testing home keeper Ann-Katrin Berger regularly. Khadija Shaw tried her luck on two or three occasions while Deyna Castellanos was also not afraid to shoot. Lauren Hemp forced a save from Berger before Chelsea took the lead against the run of play when Guro Reiten played the ball to Kirby who tapped home from 12 yards.

Manchester City’s response was positive and only the outstretched boot of Berger prevented Laura Coombs from levelling matters on the stroke of half-time.

Chelsea were better after the break and Manchester City keeper Ellie Roebuck had to get a punch on a dangerous Magda Eriksson delivery before the impressive Lauren James curled an effort wide across goal.

The Blues made sure of the three points 12 minutes from time when they were awarded a penalty after Leila Ouahabi handled in the box. Mjelde stepped up to take the spot kick and she found the corner of the net as Chelsea ended the contest 2-0 winners.

Chelsea now turn their attentions to a midweek meeting with West Ham United at Kingsmeadow while Manchester City have a three-week break until their next fixture.