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Among others Melanie Leupolz and Pernille Harder from Chelsea FC (archive picture)
Photo: John Walton / PA Images / imago images
Both the championship team from Chelsea and the pursuers from Manchester were unbeaten before the top game in the Women's Super League.
In the direct duel, a match developed on an equal footing - and in the end United had to admit defeat 1: 2 (0: 1).
Former Bundesliga player Pernille Harder took the lead for the team from London (30th minute).
Lauren James equalized (61st) before Fran Kirby scored the final score (65th).
The preliminary work for the 2-1 was provided by the German keeper Ann-Kathrin Berger.
The Blues are now level on points with Manchester, but Chelsea have the better goal difference and even one game less.
For Chelsea, it was the first game in 28 days due to the corona pandemic.
But there was little to tell about the players.
Striker star Samantha Kerr set the first exclamation mark: The striker pushed twice into the penalty area, but remained too imprecise in the end (3rd / 5th).
It lasted until the 30th minute, then the Swede Harder pushed a rebound into the net (30th).
Although the ball landed a short time later after United's Kirsty Hanson finished in the goal of German goalkeeper Berger, the Scottish national player was previously offside (41.).
The compensation fell later.
Goalkeeper Berger speaks about her time at Chelsea and cancer at the age of 27 in an interview with SPIEGEL: Read the interview here
The Red Devils came back more offensively after the break.
Just six minutes after being substituted on, 19-year-old James hit the right corner - Berger couldn't get anywhere (61st).
But Kirby provided the answer with her eighth goal of the season, who was able to claim a long pass from goalkeeper Berger into the penalty area and then sink it into the goal (65th).
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