Manchester City head coach Gareth Taylor had a feeling on Sunday. He had a feeling that Chloe Kelly, the electric England winger, was going to score. In a huge clash between two Women’s Super League title rivals, it took just seven minutes for his gut to be right. The ball fell kindly for City’s No.9 on the edge of the box, and with the space to shoot, she didn’t hesitate to rifle it beyond Chelsea goalkeeper Zecira Musovic and give her team an early lead.
Ninety-six minutes, 11 yellow cards, two resulting reds and a heart-breaking stoppage-time goal later, Kelly’s effort wouldn’t be the match-winner. City were eventually reduced to nine players in a crazy game that raised serious questions of the league’s new approach to time-wasting and dissent, and Chelsea finally made their numerical advantage count with Guro Reiten’s 96th-minute equaliser.
Kelly was watching from the sidelines at that point, having been subbed off on the 80th minute after an incredibly hard-working display. It was a sucker punch for City, who looked to be on their way to three points despite being up against it. But Taylor was beaming with pride at full-time because of the effort and application of his players. He will have been delighted with the performance of his No.9, too, and he will not have been alone in that respect.
England boss Sarina Wiegman chose a trip to Barcelona, to watch Lucy Bronze and Keira Walsh, over a visit to a surprisingly sunny Manchester this weekend. But when she catches up on one of the maddest matches the WSL has seen, Kelly, a player still trying to force her way into the Lionesses’ starting XI on a regular basis, will certainly catch her eye.