City were reduced to nine players as both Alex Greenwood and Lauren Hemp saw red before Emma Hayes' side grabbed a stoppage-time equaliser
Chelsea's Guro Reiten broke Manchester City hearts in the Women's Super League on Sunday, her 96th-minute equaliser earning the Blues a point in a game that saw them struggle incredibly against a team reduced to nine players for the final 20 minutes. Chloe Kelly had given City an early lead with a wonderful strike, but Alex Greenwood's controversial red card before half-time changed the game and made the hosts sit back to defend their lead for the rest of the afternoon – with them so close to doing so successfully.
City started well and marked that bright opening spell with a goal when Kelly was given too much room on the edge of the box and fired a shot over the head of Chelsea goalkeeper Zecira Musovic and into the back of the net. Sophie Ingle could've levelled the scores in a rare, well-built attack from the away side shortly after, but teenager Khiara Keating came up with a big stop.
The game changed on 38 minutes. Greenwood was on a yellow card when referee Emily Heaslip adjudged her to be taking too long to take a free-kick and brandished a second booking and a red card. It baffled the home side, with two players booked for dissent in the aftermath.
Even when playing against 10 players, though, Chelsea struggled to create chances. Reiten's low cross was just missed by Mia Fishel before half-time, but it was opportunities for City, for Kelly and Bunny Shaw, that stood out more in the second period. That was even with the hosts going down to nine in the 81st minute, Lauren Hemp – booked for dissent earlier on – sent off after bringing down Lauren James.
Chelsea's inevitable breakthrough would come in the sixth added minute, with Reiten pouncing on a loose ball in the box and drilling it into the back of the net – City having to defend a corner with eight players as centre-back Alanna Kennedy waited to come back on the pitch after treatment. The home team would at least get a point for their valiant efforts, though, holding on for a 1-1 draw despite the clock ticking into a 103rd minute.
GOAL breaks down the winners & losers from the Joie Stadium…
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LOSER: 'Clamping down'
Officials in English football are starting to clamp down on several things recently. Be it time-wasting or the pestering of officials after decisions, there are several offences that players and teams have been told they will be booked for if they commit them.
But who on earth wants to see incidents like that which led to Greenwood being sent off on Sunday? The England star had already been booked for a foul earlier in the match and, on 38 minutes, she took 26 seconds to take a free-kick in her own half as she mulled over her options. As she went to kick the ball, referee Emily Heaslip blew her whistle and raced over to brandish a second yellow and, as a result, a red.
Twenty-six seconds might sound like a long time, but if you watch the incident, it's clear that Greenwood is not time-wasting. She's simply deciding what to do with the ball. It's not even half-time, after all. City might have been 1-0 up, but this was not time-wasting.
What followed was chaos. Laia Aleixandri and Kelly went into the book for their protestations and Jill Roord joined them after the half-time whistle. Hemp was also carded for dissent in the second half and later second off for a foul on James.
Yes, time-wasting and dissent do need to be clamped down on, but there also needs to be some common sense involved here. It's not the first instance of this being problematic in England this year, either. Arsenal full-back Takehiro Tomiyasu was given a very harsh red card in the Premier League earlier this season after receiving a bizarre first yellow for time-wasting. Sheffield United forward Ollie McBurnie, meanwhile, was given a second yellow card against Tottenham for dissent last month, despite seeming to be simply telling the referee that he was being fouled.
It just all seems to be getting a bit ridiculous at this point.
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WINNER: Chloe Kelly
It took Kelly until February to get her first goal of the 2022-23 WSL season, but once she hit the back of the net, she couldn't stop scoring or assisting in a run of form that threatened to drag City back into a title race they'd seemingly fallen well out of. There will be no such wait this campaign, though, as it took her just seven minutes on the second week of the new season to open her account.
While it may be asked whether Chelsea goalkeeper Musovic could've done better or not, it was a rocket of a strike from Kelly that broke the deadlock in a huge game in Manchester, her effort from the edge of the box flying into the back of the net to give City the lead.
Having started slowly last year, and given she missed a penalty in the win over West Ham last week, this will give the England star heaps of confidence moving forward as Kelly and her team look to deliver a first WSL title since 2016.
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LOSER: Chelsea
It wasn't until City only had eight players on the pitch that Chelsea managed to make a breakthrough on Sunday. To get a point after playing so poorly is a positive. But to have a player advantage for more than half of the match, and a two-player advantage for around 20 minutes, and still struggle to create anything of note? That must be worrying for head coach Emma Hayes.
City started this game brilliantly and Chelsea looked lost when trying to respond. There were very few attacking moves of note throughout the afternoon, despite the plethora of top-quality forwards on the pitch and available to come off the bench.
It's early in the season and there are new signings that are still fitting into this team, of course, but Chelsea will hope that their performances improve sooner rather than later.
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LOSER: Lauren Hemp
While Keating excelled on Sunday, that Player of the Match award could've been Hemp's. A livewire in the attack in the first half, her role changed completely once Greenwood was sent off, the forward having to drop into a conservative left wing-back role in order to bring some stability to the defence and contain James, who was playing on Chelsea's right wing.
She stuck to her task – and James – admirably, working so so hard for her team in order to preserve their lead while also managing to contribute in an attacking sense when City could get out of their own half.
But marking James like that almost guarantees that you're going to get a yellow card, and Hemp did on the 81st minute when she brought her England team-mate down just outside the box. Sadly for Hemp, it was her second of the day, with her the fourth player to be booked for dissent.
The long walk to the tunnel after her dismissal was a sad way for her day to end, such was the quality and determination in her performance.