Chelsea came incredibly close to losing their first game under Sonia Bompastor on Sunday, but for a controversial equaliser by Lauren James. Brighton took the game to the reigning Women's Super League champions and they struggled under that pressure, going 2-1 down in a game that saw Lionesses star Keira Walsh subbed off at half-time and Naomi Girma, who the Blues paid a world-record fee for in January, have to come off less than an hour into her club debut. However, James was in the right place at the right time to bag a second-half equaliser in a 2-2 draw - although it was clear that the England winger had strayed offside before tapping in.
While Brighton started brilliantly on the south coast, it was Chelsea who actually broke the deadlock thanks to a sublime volley by Sandy Baltimore with just 17 minutes on the clock. The Seagulls would get a deserved equaliser just a few minutes later, though, when Marisa Olislagers' shot somehow flew past Hannah Hampton at her near post, and then they would go ahead before the break, thanks to a nice finish from Vicky Losada.
Bompastor didn't hesitate to make changes in a bid to change the game and it was one of those, Mayra Ramirez, who made the big difference when her saved effort rebounded into the path of a seemingly offside James to finish. The goal stood, though, giving the Blues half an hour, plus nine minutes of stoppage time, to find a winner. Yet, despite the star quality Bompastor was able to throw on, it wouldn't come, with Brighton themselves also threatening at the other end and having a strong penalty shout turned down.
In the end, given the fortunate circumstances surrounding their equaliser, the English champions may well be happy with the point they escaped with, even if it means their lead at the top of the WSL table was cut to five points today, thanks to Manchester United's win over Leicester earlier in the day.
GOAL rates Chelsea's players from the Broadfield Stadium...
