The 2024/25 Barclays Women’s Super League began on Friday evening, as reigning champions Chelsea- seeking a staggering sixth successive title- took on Aston Villa at Kingsmeadow.

Both dugouts saw new faces taking stewardship of their respective sides with Sonia Bompastor taking over the managerial reins from Emma Hayes. At the same time, Robert de Pauw- Carla Ward’s predecessor- began life in the away end with the uphill task of trying to overcome the in-tune table toppers. 

Taking a look at the team news coming out of the capital city, Chelsea handed 2022 UEFA European Women’s Championship winner Lucy Bronze (reuniting the former Barcelona baller with fellow Lioness and EURO winner, Millie Bright) and France international Sandy Baltimore, their respective league debuts. 

Whilst visiting Villa – wearing black armbands to commemorate the passing of 1982 European Cup winner Gary Shaw – showcased four of their eight summer signings. Sabrina D’Angelo, Paula Tomás, Missy Bo Kearns and Chasity Grant all made their league debut, whilst club-record signing Gabi Nunes was left out of the match day squad due to injury.

CHE: Hampton; Bronze, Bright, Buchanan, Lawrence; Nüsken, Cuthbert; Reiten, Kaneryd, Baltimore; Ramírez VIL: D’Angelo; Maritz, Parker, Patten, Tomás; Staniforth, Nobbs; Grant, Dali, Bo Kearns; Daly

In a frantic end-to-end opening fifteen minutes at Kingsmeadow, both sides saw gilt-edge opportunities to net the opening goal of the 2024/25 campaign go amiss, as Guro Reiten twice fired wide of the far post. Missy Bo Kearns also steered her effort to the wrong side of the post in a trying response for the Villans.

On her return to the Barclays WSL, Bronze powerfully headed straight at D’Angelo, via the boot of Bright, as Reiten fired a personal hat-trick of efforts off target much to her visible frustration.

 Amid the sound of fireworks being set off outside of the stadium, Chelsea were in an equal celebratory mood just nine minutes before half-time, as suave Swedish star Johanna Rytting Kaneryd expertly took the ball away from Tomás, cut back towards goal, all before curling an exquisitely-struck strike past D’Angelo into the far corner of the net.

Desperately seeking their first-ever head-to-head victory in Barclays WSL, Aston Villa flew out of the blocks for the start of the second half as last season’s club top scorer (eight goals) in Rachel Daly struck the paintwork on the crossbar with a looping header that took an age to fall from the night sky.

In response, following a period of inactivity in front of goal, Erin Cuthbert called D’Angelo into action with an ambitious effort from a distance that flew straight at the Villa debutant. Despite de Pauw’s introduction of another new face in the form of Katie Robinson, in addition to Adriana Leon – with the latter looking extremely threatening in and around the area – Chelsea had to be saved late on by Hannah Hampton, who sublimely kept out headers from Daly and then the marauding D’Angelo to deny her former employers a late share of the spoils.

Despite late efforts from the Villans, it was Chelsea who once again would reign victorious at Kingsmeadow, as Sonia Bompastor and her Blues start the new campaign as they mean to go on.