LONDON — Chelsea defeated defending Women’s Super League champions Manchester City 1-0 to move to the top of the WSL table. Sandy Baltimore struck from the edge of the box to secure a narrow victory that left Arsenal 12 points adrift, the report said.
Chelsea head coach Sonia Bompastor made two first-half substitutions, most notably removing centre back Kadeisha Buchanan after 12 minutes. Buchanan had been involved in two early chances for City and was replaced by Veerle Buurman, who was later named player of the match.
The change proved decisive as Chelsea held the lead after City were reduced to 10 players when goalkeeper Ayaka Yamashita was sent off. The win completed a maximum nine points for Chelsea from their three matches against top-four opponents so far this season, the report said.
Former Chelsea manager Emma Hayes watched from the stands alongside England manager Sarina Wiegman as part of preparations to assess USWNT players ahead of the 2027 World Cup qualification match at the end of November. The report noted Hayes joined celebrations at full time and that the victory underlined familiar defensive qualities from the squad: Chelsea have not conceded in the UEFA Women’s Champions League, conceded five goals in the league and recorded eight clean sheets so far, the account said.
Bompastor explained the early substitution of Buchanan after the match, saying Buchanan had taken a knock to the head in training the day before and, while she “was fine” in assessments, the coach felt she “was not herself” during the game. Buchanan left the pitch appearing displeased and headed down the tunnel. The report also recalled a similar early removal of Buchanan in the 2023 League Cup final under Hayes.
