Chelsea Women rue missed chances as they draw level with Manchester United

Chelsea’s Women did not get the best start to their latest campaign as they drew level to Manchester United after missing chance after chance.

Fresh off the Community Shield win and the signing of Pernille Harder, the Blues were expected to have a good start to their title defense. Manchester United are no slouches but Chelsea entered as favorites. With both Manchester City and Arsenal picking up wins earlier in the Match Day, the Blues knew what they needed to do to start the defense on the right foot.

It did not go to plan. Chelsea had control over the match for the most part, but a lack of finishing ultimately cost them after Manchester United found their way through on a counter. Obviously, it is only the first match of the season and it was away to a good side, but any ground given up may prove hard to pull back given that last season was decided on points per game (thanks to Covid).

Chelsea against started in a fluid 4-2-3-1 that shifted into a 4-1-4-1 at times. The first half saw the Blues in control, but with little penetration. They did find space on the flanks a few times and one of those rotations yielded a cross from Fran Kirby to Sam Kerr for a scrappy tap in.

Unfortunately, the rest of the day did not go so well for Kerr. It was certainly a sharper performance than the Community Shield, which is promising, but it was still lacking given Pernille Harder is waiting in the wings. Kerr found it difficult to get involved through United’s solid defense but she still managed to carve out good chances. That is only half the battle however. The other half is actually putting those in the net and Kerr is still struggling to do so.

Of course, the rest of the team can’t say they did much better. It certainly proved difficult that United’s keeper, Mary Earps, stood on her head but even still the Blues should have converted more than Kerr’s goal.

That lack of finishing ultimately cost the Blues two points. For the vast majority of the match, Chelsea controlled possession as United sat off and looked for counters. It was only at the start of the second half that United can truly say they had control of things. Fresh off of a missed chance, United bounded up the field and sliced Chelsea’s defense apart for arguably the only time in the entire match. Leah Galton had no issues with her tap in to bring things level.

Offensive substitutions, including Harder getting her debut, were unable to change the match. The Blues settled for the point with the result feeling both deserved and as though two points had been dropped.

A point away to a solid United team is not an awful way to start the season, but any ground given up by the defending champions could prove costly. The Blues will be searching for their scoring boots throughout the week as they prepare to host Bristol City, fresh off a 4-0 loss to Everton, at Kingsmeadow on 13 September.