5 talking points as Chelsea's last-gasp goal earns draw vs nine-woman Man City
Guro Reiten's last-ditch equaliser salvaged a crucial point for reigning champions Chelsea against nine-player Manchester City Women on Sunday.
The hosts relished a dream start as Chloe Kelly's blistering strike from range fired City into the ascendency with just seven minutes gone.
City continued to pile on the pressure as Emma Hayes' side struggled to tease out a rhythm, a dearth that was made all the more stark when juxtaposed to the home side.
But a controversial dismissal of Alex Greenwood shortly before the interval threatened to shift the tone of the match. Greenwood's red card marked the second dismissal for City in their opening two matches, with Leila Ouahabi sent off in the 2-0 victory over West Ham.
Despite the numerical advantage, Chelsea struggled to break through City's resolute defence, with Lauren James coming closest as she smacked the crossbar.
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City continued to push for a second goal, getting the better of the chances early in the second-half, only for the hosts' woes to be compounded with less than 10 minutes remaining as Lauren Hemp was sent off for a second yellow card offence.
And Chelsea finally found their equaliser deep in injury-time as Reiten slipped in a strike following a corner.
Below the Mirror takes you through the game's key talking points.
1. Another lethargic Chelsea start punished
The Blues never truly got out of third gear in their 3-1 win over Tottenham until the second-half. But while Spurs’ profligacy didn’t punish the reigning champions, City’s front three of Mary Fowler, Lauren Hemp and Chloe Kelly would never be so wasteful.
And so it proved. And after a bright start from the home side that called Zećira Mušović into action twice, Kelly thumped a thunderous strike beyond the Swede to fire City ahead inside the opening 10 minutes.
Chelsea laboured to shift their pedestrian pace as the game progressed, though Greenwood's sending off aided Chelsea gaining a foothold.
But their early stodginess was especially amplified against City's sharp and slick play.
City boss Gareth Taylor vowed to put an end to the Hayes-Chelsea dominance with a visit from the reigning champs. And though Reiten salvaged a crucial point for Chelsea, City's early pressure and intensity promises to provide a potential blueprint in doing just that.
Chloe Kelly opens the scoring for Manchester City against Chelsea (Matt McNulty - The FA/The FA via Getty Images)2. Greenwood centurion status marred by controversial red card
A day of celebration for the City skipper on her 100th appearance for the club quickly became a day to forget as Greenwood was shown a second yellow card for time wasting in the first half.
The Lioness, already on a yellow card for an earlier foul, was meant to take a free kick in her own half. But a 26-second delay was perceived to be too long for referee Emily Heaslip, who showed Greenwood a second yellow for the offense.
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Greenwood's dismissal saw immediate retaliation from teammates, with both Laia Aleixandri and Jill Roord being taken down into Heaslip's book for dissent.
Alex Greenwood of Manchester City leaves the pitch after being shown a red card (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)The WSL, like the Premier League, has tasked its officials to crack down on time wasting and dissent this season.
But Greenwood's sending off was met with fierce criticism, with Fara Williams declaring that the decision "ruins the game" and Ian Wright branding the decision "embarrassing".
Arsenal striker Beth Mead also weighed in, calling the decision "awful".
City's second-half performance was heavily fuelled by a burning sense of injustice, but the injustice was only exacerbated as Lauren Hemp, on a yellow already for dissent, was sent off for a second offence with eight minutes of regular time remaining.
3. Hayes gets her 'unpredictability' as City character shines
Hayes made headlines earlier this week when she called for an expansion of the league to help with the problematic 'unpredictability' currently gripping the top-flight.
City boss Gareth Taylor declared his side would be the ones to disrupt Chelsea's hegemony, and so it proved as an unassailable defensive performance in the second-half, made all the more difficult as City were reduced to nine players, thwarted the six-time reigning league champions' better efforts to salvage more than a point from their journey up north.
Despite Reiten's equaliser, the result comes as an emphatic statement of intent from Taylor's side as they reduced Hayes' 'mentality monsters' to a last-ditch equaliser.
For a team teeming with forward threats, and arguably one of the world's best young talents in James, the need for City to go down, momentarily, to eight players for Chelsea to finally find a semblance of attacking edge was a potential sign of Chelsea's vulnerability.
And after the dramatic 2-2 draw between title rivals Manchester United and Arsenal on Friday evening, the title race is already promising to deliver an enticing affair.
City's early inclusion in that race will certainly only make any title race all the more thrilling.
A dejected Sophie Ingle of Chelsea Women (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)4. Kerr returns but can't provide Chelsea clinical edge
The Australian wasn't involved in her side's 2-1 win over Tottenham due to her ongoing recovery from injury, but the buzz heading into Sunday had an inevitable Kerr undertone as Hayes declared the striker availability earlier in the week.
And the second half saw Kerr return to the fold as she was tasked to wreak havoc against 10-woman City.
But Kerr and her teammates struggled to test City keeper Khiara Keating, despite the sheer advantage in numbers.
And three minutes into injury time, the ball dropped to Kerr in the box in what promised to be the clinch equaliser, only for Kerr to miscue the shot.
The miss evoked shades of Kerr's performance against England at the World Cup in which the Australian, recovering from a shin injury, was a shadow of the more familiar apex predator.
Following Reiten's equaliser deep in injury time, Kerr had chances to grab a dramatic game-winner, only for the striker to be flagged offside as her chipped effort bounced wide of Keating's goal before her looping header ricocheted off the post.
Sam Kerr of Chelsea speaks to teammate Lauren James (Photo by Matt McNulty - The FA/The FA via Getty Images)5. Officiating under further scrutiny after Greenwood decision
The opening weekend of the WSL was defined as much by big results up and down the table as the state of the league's officiating.
Last weekend, it was VAR and goal-line technology that dominated the media band width, with Chelsea boss Hayes blasting the lack of both in her side's 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur while Aston Villa manager Carla Ward bemoaned the red card afforded her side shortly after penalty appeals for a foul on Rachel Daly in the box fell on deaf ears.
The WSL, like the Premier League, has tasked its officials with stamping out dissent and time wasting. But the manner with which the decisions are being made have come under harsh scrutiny, and Sunday afternoon's match will likely only fan the flames of an already fierce discord emerging within the league.
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