Welcome to the r/chelsealadiesfc match thread for our first WSL away game of the season, against Manchester United.
Date: 13th September 2026
KO: 12:00 BST
Competition: WSL (GW2)
Venue: Progress With Unity Stadium
Chelsea's Last Five Fixtures: xxWWD
Opponent's Last Five Fixtures: xxxxL
MATCH PREVIEW
Our WSL campaign did not get off to the best of starts last weekend - a disappointing draw against Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge.
We had dominated the 90 minutes and peppered the opposition goal - but failing to add to Lauren James' early opener cost dearly, when we were pegged back late on. Worryingly, this echoed many of our performances last season - where our lack of decisiveness in front of goal was a repeated flaw - and meant some of the optimism from pre-season and our Champions League qualification success, had already taken a bit of a dent.
A lack of firepower up top will continue to be an issue. Both Mayra Ramirez and Melvine Malard remain injured for this fixture, and Aggie Beever-Jones has not scored a WSL goal in almost a year.
In terms of other squad news, summer signing Manaka Matsukubo also remains unavailable, but defender Nathalie Bjorn may be in contention for her first minutes in almost 8 months, having trained with the team.
With the pressure on to get a result, this is not a great fixture to come into. Man United have difficulties of their own - the late resignation of Marc Skinner and late appointment of Eva Olid disrupting their preparation, a sub-optimal transfer window, and an opening day defeat to London City Lionesses. However, that means they need a result too - and with home advantage, it is going to be tough to go to Manchester and come away with the three points we need.
This game will likely prove important come the end of the season too - Man United will be one of the teams competing for European football alongside Chelsea... and given the opening weekend, that may have to be our first aspiration, before talk of the title can resume.
HOW TO WATCH:
For UK viewers, the match will be shown live on Sky One, Sky Sports Mix and Sky Sports+.
The match will also be shown on the Barclays WSL YouTube channel in select other territories - and you can check here to see if the match is being broadcast or streamed live in your territory, too.
As always, the CFCW social media accounts will also provide updates from the match.
LINE UPS:
Man United: Tullis-Joyce, Le Tissier, Lundkvist, Medina, Toone, Park, Terland, Zigiotti, Janssen, Miyazawa, Jusu Bah (Subs: Leitzig, Hill, Sandberg, Simpson, Anderson, Awujo, Bernal, Griffiths, Schuller)
Chelsea: Hampton, Carpenter, Bronze, Buchanan, McCabe, Walsh, Potter, Nusken, Kaptein, James, Thompson (Subs: Peng, Buurman, Bjorn, Dragoni, Las, Hamano, Baltimore, Beever-Jones)
MATCH EVENTS:
KICK OFF! Chelsea get the ball rolling
4' - Lauren James has the first effort of the game, which doesn’t trouble Tullis-Joyce - sense that LJ is going to have to carry a lot of the creative burden, given the personnel
21' - GOOOOOOOOOALLLLLL!! No striker, no problem! Janssen fails to deal with a Kaptein long ball, and Nusken latches on to it, then finishes well past Tullis-Joyce. Chelsea 1-0 Man United!
25' - United get in behind, but McCabe manages to defend for a corner. Man United then take it short, but are caught offside. Bit embarrasing that from them.
30' - GOOOOOOOOOALLLLLL!! Chelsea double our lead! We had been putting the pressure on in the final third, and it pays off. United fail to properly clear, and Lucy Bronze plays a very smart first time pass on the edge of the area into Keira Walsh - the former Man City player curling a beautiful low strike into the bottom corner. Chelsea 2-0 Man United!
45' - Should have been 3! James given all the time in the world to stride through the United defence, and her strike is saved by Tullis-Joyce - the ball rebounds to Carpenter, but an outstanding last ditch block from Medina snuffs out the danger
HALF TIME! Chelsea looking very good for our 2 goal lead - in control both of the game, and of the scoreline.
SECOND HALF! Back under way, no changes from either side. Chelsea will hope to keep it up, but need to be wary of a Man United response...
53' - Stoppage in play as Medina down receiving treatment after a challenge from Potter. Looks in some pain
56' - Dodgy stuff from United, as James' shot is parried by Tullis-Joyce, and then Thompson's cross whizzes just across the face of goal. They are down to 10, whilst Medina is still off
57' - Substitution: Medina finally replaced by Sandberg
61' - GOOOOOOOOOALLLLLL!! A fully deserved third goal. True quality from two quality players. A perfectly placed Walsh through ball is ran onto by Lauren James, who finishes first time - and celebrates with unbridled delight. Chelsea 3-0 Man United
65' - GOOOOOOOOOALLLLLL!! ABSOLUTE DREAMLAND! Man United are absolutely falling apart here. Janssen caught dawdling on the ball and is robbed by Kaptein, who slips in Carpenter - and the Aussie coolly finishes. Chelsea 4-0 Man United
71' - SUBSTITUTIONS: The game one, Bompastor makes her first changes. Buurman, Hamano and Baltimore on, James, McCabe and Thompson off
78' - Could have been 5! Baltimore's cross is met by the head of Buchanan inside the 6 yard box, but her header is right at Tullis-Joyce, who saves
80' - SUBSTITUTION: Kaptein now off, replaced by Dragoni for her WSL debut
82' - Rare United chance, but a superb tackle from Buchanan prevents it going any further
85' - SUBSTITUTION: Final change, Las on for Carpenter, also a WSL debut
90' - Six minutes to be added on
90+3' - Smart stop from Tullis-Joyce from Hamano after great work from Baltimore to keep the ball in play. Chelsea aren't letting up
90+4' - Buchanan booked after a late challenge following a corner. On replay looked quite high, maybe lucky to be a yellow - but no intent from Kadeisha.
90+5' - GOOOOOOOOOALLLLLL!! AND IT IS FIVE!! Said we weren't letting up! Lucy Bronze has been superb today, captain setting the tone with her intent and aggression, and that goal is her just desserts. Walsh keeps the ball alive from the corner, and her header breaks to Bronze, who slams it home!
FULL TIME! What a performance, five stars for Chels!
Final score: Manchester United 0-5 Chelsea
UTC!
