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2m agoHalf-time: Manchester United 0-2 Chelsea
17m agoGOAL! Manchester United 0-2 Chelsea (Keira Walsh, 32)
28m agoGOAL! Manchester United 0-1 Chelsea (Sjoeke Nüsken, 22)
Chelsea have a strong lead at the break. United will need to change a few things if they want to get back into this game.
45 min: Another big chance for Chelsea! James forces Tullis-Joyce into a good save with a low strike from the edge of the box. The goalkeeper parries it out to the feet of Carpenter, but Medina gets there to make a phenomenal challenge.
41 min: It feels like every time United look to play out, Chelsea are there to put a stop to the move. The Blues are looking really comfortable now.
The hosts need to find a spark somewhere.
38 min: James goes for another long-range effort, but she slips and her strike flies just over the crossbar.
35 min: It’s all Chelsea now. United are struggling to get out of their own half.
33 min: That’s another great goal for the Blues.
A cross is sent into the box and Medina attempts to head it clear, but the ball only runs as far as Bronze, who shifts it to Walsh on her left. The midfielder sets herself up before unleashing a brilliant effort into the bottom-left corner.
United have a huge job to do now.
Walsh makes it two for the girls in Blue! A great strike from the edge of the box.
29 min: Thompson plays a brilliant one-two with James on the left before running on the overlap and crossing the ball into the danger zone. Kaptein is there, but Miyazawa gets in front to head it away.
26 min: United break forward again as Park skips past McCabe before looking for the cross, but Buchanan makes the block to send the ball out for a corner.
Nothing comes of the resulting set piece.
24 min: Manchester United look to find a quick equaliser straight from kick-off as the ball is played through to Jusu Bah, who looks to break into the box but is flagged offside.
23 min: Chelsea unpick the Manchester United defence as Bronze sends a lofted pass into the box. Janssen completely mis-times the header, allowing Kaptein to take possession before squaring the ball across to Nüsken, who taps it in from close range.
Nüsken breaks the deadlock! Chelsea lead!
19 min: Chelsea make their way into the box once again, but they almost try to walk the ball into the net! At least four players in Blue find themselves in a position to shoot but play it elsewhere. That might feel like an opportunity missed.
16 min: James puts the ball on a plate for Kaptein with a perfect cross from the left. The midfielder heads it towards goal, but there’s not enough conviction on it and Tullis-Joyce makes the save.
14 min: James receives the ball on the left side of the box after making a run over from the right. She cuts inside onto her right foot and unleashes a strike from the edge of the box, but it floats over the crossbar.
10 min: Chance for United as Terland receives the ball in a tight space in the box. She goes for goal but her effort is too weak and Hampton collects.
9 min: Chelsea seem to be operating in a 3-5-2 formation, with Nüsken and James the two leading the line. Bronze, Buchanan and McCabe are the back three.
6 min: The ball is brilliantly switched over to Jusu Bah on the left, who looks to make a run into the box, but Hampton rushes off her line to collect.
4 min: Bronze wins the ball back for Chelsea on the right side with a perfectly-timed challenge on Medina, who appeals for a free kick. Absolutely nothing wrong with that tackle. Play continues.
2 min: Chelsea attempt to cause some early problems for United as the ball is sent into James, who taps it just wide.
We’re under way at the Progress with Unity Stadium!
The teams are out. Kick-off is just a few moments away!
Ahead of today’s match, Chelsea head coach Sonia Bompastor said: “We need to keep the confidence and keep working hard. I spoke after the Villa game about the mentality, the mindset. It’s a huge part of being ruthless in the box. That game could have been easily 3-0 half-time, and we need to have that mentality when we have the opportunities to kill the game after 45 minutes to do that.
“This week I was coaching the players in the final details: around timings of the runs in the box, being in the right zones, what type of crosses do we want to deliver, what are the connections between the crosser and the players who are making the runs in the box.
“It’s just for me to reinforce those messages, to coach them on the pitch, and make sure we get them right on the game on the weekend.”
“Don’t panic; that has to be United’s message. To an extent, it is very early to be writing the team’s obituary. The new head coach, Eva Olid, had only three weeks to try to implement her ideas about the way the team should play before that match against London City Lionesses on Friday 4 September. That is not long enough for her to peel away Marc Skinner’s imprint on the team…”
In her pre-match press conference, Manchester United head coach Eva Olid said: “I expect us to be confident with the ball, everyone showing we want to have the ball. It’s everything like that, not just about confidence.
“Of course we know they are good and there will be moments we have to defend, but we want to attack too, we want to put them in difficult situations where we hurt them, and that is the main focus.
“When we have the ball, we enjoy the ball, and we really have confidence to create chances, put them in difficult situations and hope that we can score goals too.”
How the WSL table looks currently…
