Manchester United Women 1-1 Chelsea Women
Twente Women 1-1 Chelsea Women
Chelsea Men 2-1 Liverpool Men
Chelsea's women remain top of the Women's Super League despite only achieving a 1-1 draw away to a strong Manchester United in – at times – horizontal rain, with Wieke Kaptein scoring first, teed up by a cheeky backheel from Cat Macario.
A magnificent volley from United's Anna Sandberg beat Hannah Hampton and flew into the top corner for the equaliser, but despite both teams creating lightning-fast breaks, it remained level at the end.
Sam Kerr made another appearance as sub as she regains match fitness after her long injury lay-off, and Sonia Bompastor simply had to shrug and accept that the two in-form teams in the league had cancelled each other out.
After the draw with United at Leigh Village, defender Nathalie Bjorn admitted it had been tough for the Blues. "We were struggling in the first half, but played a better second half. We're happy with a point, and we'll keep working," she said. "One of our strengths is to take one point, or three, even if the game is tough."
It was all square again on Wednesday night, as Chelsea travelled to the Netherlands to face Dutch champions Twente in their first Women's Champions League tie.
Sandy Baltimore put away a second-half penalty to rescue a point, after the Blues had gone one-down thanks to Twente's Danique van Ginkel.
Next up, Chelsea host Spurs at Kingsmeadow on Sunday, followed by the visit of Paris FC Féminines to the Bridge on Wednesday 15 October.
Champions defeated
Meanwhile Chelsea's men faced champions Liverpool at the Bridge despite eight first-team choices being either injured or suspended.
But Saturday's clash underlined how impressive the depths of this ever-evolving squad are as the Blues snatched victory in the dying seconds of stoppage time thanks to a debut goal by Brazilian mini marvel Estevao.
Enzo Maresca blames the Club World Cup in the States in the summer for his casualty ward of crocks. But with Josh Acheampong drafted in to defence and a general can-do attitude, Moises Caicedo's 13th-minute screamer was no more than the Blues deserved.
The Reds pulled level in the second half through Cody Gakpo, but far from being deflated it was Chelsea who turned the screw and created the most promising openers for a winner.
When Estevao connected with Marc Cucurella's cross with just one minute of ref Anthony Taylor's seven extras remaining, Stamford Bridge went wild. So wild, in fact, that Maresca couldn't resist sprinting off down the touchline to join the party, earning a sending-off for his jubilation.
At least the team ended up with all 11 players on the pitch this time after a recent blizzard of reds; a refreshing rarity in these crazy, ill-disciplined but immensely watchable days in SW6.
Mo Salah was uncharacteristically wasteful for Liverpool, despite having several good chances. But Chelsea, as a team, were magnificent, and this fast-paced, end-to-end tussle will go down as one of the stadium's recent classics.
Worryingly, Benoit Badiashile and Acheampong also hobbled off following treatment in the second half, but Romeo Lavia and Jorrel Hato proved dependable subs.
Next up for the men, an international break followed by an away trip to face Nottingham Forest.
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and unless specifically stated are not necessarily those of Hammersmith & Fulham Council.
