Key events
40 min: Chelsea’s Nusken, down the right, shoots and D’Angelo makes a fine save. Villa hanging on a fair bit more than they were before.
38 min: Sonia Bompastor remained elegantly impassive as her players celebrated that breakthrough. She’s seen much in the game as a player and manager, and will know her team haven’t hit their straps.
Goal! Chelsea 1-0 Aston Villa (Kaneryd, 36)
Chelsea at last find some space, and Villa give it up. Thomas lunges, Kaneryd cuts back and wallop, D’Angelo could not stop it. Did that come against the run of play?
35 min: More evidence of that Villa pressure, Hampton hacks the ball straight off the field.
33 min: Bronze gets the ball and has to cut in, as Villa continue to close down space.
31 min: Space opens up for Jordan Nobbs to shoot; Hannah Hampton saves but is furious the space had opened up.
30 min: Lauren James doing her warmups on the sideline, to remind of the squad depth Chelsea have to hand. At the moment, their first XI is struggling a tad.
28 min: A shake of the head from Fran Cuthbert; it’s not going to plan for Chelsea. Ramirez is having to get through an awful lot of defensive duties.
26 min: The corner is cleared as Lucy Parker misses her attempt to get on the end of it.
25 min: Villa’s Tomas is pinged down the flank by D’Angelo, her keeper, and Bronze has to concede a corner.
23 min: Chelsea now pressing high, with De Pauw telling his team to go over the press. He’s quite the character.
21 min: Up in the stands, Sam Kerr, who won’t be back until 2025. Villa continue to hold the ball in the corner, Chastity Grant holding the ball. Chelsea are having to sit deep.
18 min: Chelsea attempt to take the sting out of the game but Villa continue to be a threat. Sonia Bompastor is looking a little concerned.
16 min: Hannah Hampton the busier keeper so far? That’s a surprise. De Pauw’s team are well drilled. Chelsea seem a little more…freeform.
14 min: De Pauw can be heard to ask his players to go back to the keeper. Villa look the far more direct team. And they’ve come right into it.
12 min: Villa go so close. Twice. Paula Thomas drags a shot wide. And then Kearns is aghast when the ball drops to her and she cannot beat the forest of legs. The new Chelsea will offer you chances, it seems.
10 min: Villa get another corner, it taking Erin Cuthbert to get the ball clear. The set piece and the long throw have clearly been worked on.
8 min: Another Ramirez gallop, after Baltimore’s tackle, and another Reiten shot wide.
6 min: Villa mount an attack and win a corner. Jordan Nobbs takes, but it’s cleared and Chastity Grant comes across to stop the counter attack. It’s brisk stuff so far.
4 min: On the sidelines, Bompastor cuts a cooler figure than her predecessor. So far, the dominance is just the same.
Lucy Staniforth gets a booking and gives away a free-kick that’s aimed at Bright. She’s just unable to get on the end of ir.
3 min: Bright being so far forward suggests this could be total football from Sonia Bompastor. Good to see. It’s all Chelsea, after Ramirez, on the gallop, wins a corner.
Away we go in the 2024-25 WSL season
1 min: They take the knee, and off we go on Jack Goodchild Way. Nice Friday night noise from the home fans. Their team starts on the front foot. Millie Bright is forward and heads on for Reiten to drag wide.
Sonia Bompastor walks out, then realises she’s forgotten something and has to dash down the tunnel to retain it. Big smiles from De Pauw as they shake hands. Maybe he’s not so taciturn after all. The Villa players wearing black armbands for Gary Shaw.
Sonia Bompastor speaks about Lucy Bronze: “She has so much experience, she is one of the best right-backs in the world. We are the holders so we need to start strongly. Friendlies are different. Competitive games are a different mindset.”
“Tough opponent, nothing to lose, plenty to play for.” Villa manager Robert de Pauw is from the Arne Slot school of taciturn Dutchman.
For the home team, Lucy Bronze and Sandy Baltimore make debuts, while Mayra Ramirez starts up top for Chelsea. Missy Bo Kearns and Sabrina D’Angelo make their Villa debuts, too.
And a profile of Sonia Bompastor, from the time of her appointment.
And the respective teams’ season previews.
Before we get started, there’s still time to read Suzanne Wrack’s preview of the season.
The teams are here
Chelsea: Hampton, Bronze, Bright, Buchanan, Lawrence, Cuthbert, Nusken, Reiten, Baltimore, Kaneryd, Ramirez. Subs: Musovic, Macario, James, Bjorn, Perisset, Kaptein, Mpome, Beever-Jones.
Aston Villa team: D’Angelo, Maritz, Patten, Parker, Tomas, Nobbs, Staniforth, Grant, Kearns, Dali, Daly. Subs: Poor, Mayling, Corsie, Turner, Pacheco, Leon, Robinson, Hanson, Salmon.
Preamble
So this is Chelsea without Emma Hayes. And Emma being Emma she’s already made waves with an Olympic gold. So no pressure, Sonia Bompastor, once of Lyon, takes charge at Kingsmeadow – no roll-out at Stamford Bridge – after a promising summer tour. The expectation, this being Chelsea, is that they win the WSL. Such are the standards. It won’t be the same without Fran Kirby and Jess Carter, among others but Lucy Bronze is among the summer arrivals.
As for Villa, Robert de Pauw has taken over after Carla Ward’s surprise exit, and there’s been plenty of change. Rachel Daly remains, and without her England duties to consider, and Chelsea know she is still one of the best stikers in the game.
Kick-off is at 7pm. Join me.
