Replacements help Gunners down newcomers, Vignola strikes three and Koga is backed to be ‘one of the best’
Sonia Bompastor, the Chelsea manager, expressed her frustration at what she perceived to be a deliberate tactical timeout orchestrated by Manchester City during the first half of Friday’s season-opener. While the City goalkeeper Ayaka Yamashita was down receiving treatment, head coach Andrée Jeglertz used his tactics board to show instructions to his players. Bompastor could be seen remonstrating with the officials at the time and, after the game, she said: “For me, that’s not fair. It’s not in the rules. I mentioned that last season as well, with all the goalkeepers going down just for the coach to have a tactical stoppage to talk to the players. I’m not saying I will never use that, because I know that it can be part of a strategy, but tonight it was too much. It was a long break, it was obvious for everyone, they had the board and everything.” Tom Garry
Match report: Chelsea 2-1 Manchester City
Beever-Jones shows she is more than impact player
Olivia Smith may have stolen Arsenal hearts and the headlines with her stunning debut goal in the 4-1 defeat of London City Lionesses, but the impact of the Gunners’ substitutes was key to them seeing out the game comfortably. For the third goal it was Beth Mead and Stina Blackstenius combining, before Frida Maanum was the beneficiary of that pair’s buildup play for Arsenal’s fourth. All three had come off the bench against the WSL newcomers and with Arsenal competing on four fronts this season, that quality in depth will be critical. The head coach Renée Slegers said of her squad: “It’s early in the season, so we also had to manage a lot of things. We had to make good decisions with yellow cards and players’ fitness today, and that’s all taken into account. The players who start the game problem-solved, they had to create a team connection and the rhythm on the pitch, and then the players that finished the game when things were more open – it was brilliant today.” Suzanne Wrack
