Chelsea 1-0 Aston Villa: Women’s Super League – live reaction

Kerr scores the only goal as Chelsea beat Aston Villa

Chelsea began their Women’s Super League title defence with a 1-0 victory over Aston Villa thanks to a goal from Sam Kerr.

The Blues dominated possession and chances but had to wait until the 62nd minute to break the deadlock, with Kerr heading in from close range following a cross from Guro Reiten.

Villa had chances to equalise, with Rachel Daly hitting the post in the second half, but Chelsea held on to claim all three points.

Chelsea dominate but Villa hold firm

Chelsea started the game brightly and had the majority of the chances in the opening stages.

Erin Cuthbert forced Anna Leat into a good save with a low drive, while Reiten fired wide from a good position.

Villa grew into the game and began to create some chances of their own.

Kerr breaks the deadlock

Chelsea continued to press for the opening goal and were finally rewarded in the 62nd minute.

Reiten whipped in a cross from the left and Kerr was on hand to head home from close range.

The goal settled Chelsea down and they controlled the game for the remainder of the match.

Villa push for an equaliser

Villa pushed for an equaliser in the closing stages and came close to getting one when Daly hit the post with a header.

However, Chelsea held on to claim all three points and make a winning start to their WSL title defence.

Reaction

Chelsea manager Emma Hayes was pleased with her team’s performance.

"I thought we were really good today," she said.

"We dominated possession and created a lot of chances, so I’m really pleased with the result.”

Villa manager Carla Ward was disappointed with the result but praised her team’s effort.

"I thought we played really well today," she said.

"We had some good chances but unfortunately we couldn’t take them. Chelsea are a good team and they deserved to win today.”