Chelsea’s title hopes came under early scrutiny after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Aston Villa in their Women’s Super League opener.
Chelsea recorded 34 shots, including 23 from inside the area, and hit the crossbar. They also had a second goal ruled out for offside, but could not turn their dominance into a decisive victory.
Lauren James put Chelsea ahead after 11 minutes with a strike into the roof of the net. Aston Villa had only five touches in Chelsea’s penalty area before a late own goal brought them level.
Noelle Maritz’s shot ricocheted off Chelsea goalkeeper Hannah Hampton before going in off defender Veerle Buurman with 11 minutes remaining.
Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor said her side needed to be more clinical and to “accelerate to kill the game”.
“If we were two or three nil up then the game is over,” Bompastor said. “We need to make sure we accelerate to kill the game. That is not what happened today.”
Summer signing Katie McCabe, who joined Chelsea from Arsenal, also acknowledged the missed opportunities after making her WSL debut for the club.
“We’re frustrated to drop points at home,” McCabe told BBC Sport. “At this level, we need to be more clinical.”
The result revived concerns over Chelsea’s finishing. The report noted that the club had also dropped points through a lack of ruthlessness during the previous WSL campaign, when four draws and three defeats contributed to a third-place finish.
Chelsea’s attacking options were limited by a minor injury to Melvine Malard, while Mayra Ramirez was continuing her recovery. Aggie Beever-Jones led the line and had chances, but one effort was ruled out for offside.
Bompastor said Chelsea needed to improve their confidence and mindset in front of goal.
“The best teams don’t need many opportunities,” she said. “They just need one or two and maybe that’s enough to win the game. That is something we need to work on.”
