Chelsea Women vs Aston Villa Women; Barclays Women's Super League
Chelsea Women vs Aston Villa Women. Barclays Women's Super League.
Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea 1-1 Aston Villa: Lauren James strike cancelled out late on as Villa earn historic point at Stamford Bridge
Match report as Lauren James' strike is cancelled out by Veerle Buurman's own goal as Aston Villa hold Chelsea to a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge; debutant Akane Okuma produces a superb late save to deny James a winner as Villa earn their first WSL point against Chelsea
Saturday 5 September 2026 18:34, UK
Aston Villa came from behind to earn a 1-1 draw against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge as Sonia Bompastor's side were denied a winning start to their Women's Super League campaign.
Lauren James had given Chelsea a deserved lead after just 11 minutes, capitalising on a mistake in the Villa defence before shifting the ball onto her left foot and firing powerfully into the roof of the net.
Chelsea remained on top and Aggie Beever-Jones, making her 100th appearance for the club, was denied by Akane Okuma before Sjoeke Nusken fired over as the hosts went into the break with a slender advantage.
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Villa improved after half-time and Amalie Vangsgaard passed up a huge opportunity to equalise when she met Chasity Grant's cross at the near post but fired narrowly wide. Chelsea then went within inches of doubling their advantage as Keira Walsh's long-range effort crashed against the underside of the crossbar.
The visitors made Chelsea pay in the 79th minute. A mix-up inside the home penalty area allowed Noelle Maritz to react quickest and her close-range effort deflected off Veerle Buurman and into the net for an own goal.
Chelsea pushed for a winner and almost found one in the final minute of normal time, but Okuma produced a superb reaction save to somehow turn James' close-range effort over the crossbar and preserve a point for Villa.
The result means Chelsea begin their attempt to reclaim the WSL title with a draw in their first league game since making Stamford Bridge their permanent home, while Villa end a run of 12 successive league defeats against the Blues to make an encouraging start to their campaign.
The key moments from Stamford Bridge
5: WIDE! James collects the ball on the left, cuts inside and drives towards the area before creating space for a shot that flashes past the post.
11: GOAL! A mistake at the back gifts the ball to James, who drives towards goal, shifts onto her left foot and fires powerfully into the roof of the net. Chelsea lead!
21: SAVE! Carpenter is played in down the right and crosses towards Beever-Jones at the near post, but Okuma gets down quickly to push her effort behind.
28: BLOCKED! Villa work the ball to McAulay, who cuts inside from the right before seeing her effort blocked and cleared.
32: OVER! Thompson crosses from the left to Beever-Jones, who controls and lays the ball back to Nusken on the edge of the area, but the German fires over.
45: CLOSE! Parker produces some fine defending at the near post to turn the ball onto the roof of her own net as Chelsea threaten again.
55: CLOSE FOR VILLA! Grant crosses towards Vangsgaard at the near post, but the Villa striker meets it first time and fires narrowly wide. A huge chance to equalise.
67: OFF THE BAR! Walsh goes close to doubling Chelsea's lead as her stunning effort from outside the area crashes against the underside of the crossbar.
79: GOAL! VILLA ARE LEVEL! A mix-up in the Chelsea box allows Maritz to react quickest and her close-range effort deflects off Buurman and into the net for an own goal.
90: INCREDIBLE SAVE! Okuma somehow pushes James' close-range effort over the bar to deny Chelsea a late winner. A superb save from the Villa goalkeeper.
Bompastor: It's crazy we didn't win the game
Chelsea boss Sonia Bompastor:
"For me, if you analyse the game and the performance, we created enough chances to be able to score in different ways.
"Many players in the squad had the opportunity to score. The goalkeeper had a really good game. She made a lot of big saves. That's the reality. But I still think we could've done better with some of the chances we created.
"If you analyse the performance today and the statistics of the game, you could say it's crazy we didn't win the game. We created a lot of opportunities.
"The reality of football is that in this kind of game, we need to be two or three-nil up by half-time, and the game is over. Then, it's a completely different game coming into the second half because when you have two or three goals difference, you can bring players in, rotate the squad.
"In terms of mentality and mindset, I spoke before the game about the fact that when you play these games, a one-nil lead is not enough. You need to keep the momentum. You need to speed up the game as quickly as possible, and you need to sustain that. You need to make sure you accelerate to kill the game because when you are only one-nil up, you don't kill the opposition.
"So that's what happened today, and at the end of the game, we were all frustrated because it's not a good result, and I think we had the opportunity today to win the game, kill the game, and many more things."
