LEICESTER: Chelsea’s winning streak in the Women’s Super League (WSL) came to a sudden end on Saturday as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Leicester City at the King Power Stadium, snapping a run of nine consecutive league victories for the reigning champions.
Despite dominating possession, Chelsea struggled to break down a resilient Leicester side, and the Foxes’ early goal and inspired goalkeeping proved enough to secure a valuable point.
Chelsea remain at the top of the WSL table with 28 points after 10 games, six points ahead of Manchester City, who could close the gap to three points if they defeat Everton on Sunday.
Leicester, on the other hand, are 10th in the 12-team league with six points.
Leicester entered the match on the back of four straight WSL defeats, and there was little expectation that they would become the first team to take points off Chelsea this season.
However, a fast start and some brilliant defending from goalkeeper Janina Leitzig gave them hope.
Guro Reiten rattled the crossbar for Chelsea early on, but Leicester took the lead in the 20th minute.
Missy Goodwin, who replaced the injured Deanne Rose in the 11th minute, was in the right place at the far post to finish off a brilliant Leicester counter-attack.
Chelsea dominated possession but struggled to convert chances into goals.
When they did manage to test Leitzig, the goalkeeper was in superb form, keeping her team in the game with a series of important saves.
Chelsea finally breached Leicester’s defense in the 77th minute when Wieke Kaptein seized on the ball in midfield, advanced toward goal, and fired a stunning strike from outside the box to level the score.
