Chelsea leapfrogged champions Manchester City at the top of the Women's Super League table with a 1-0 victory at Stamford Bridge thanks to Sandy Baltimore's bullet first-half strike.
City were beaten for the first time this season having been clumsy all day - from a lacklustre first half, to wayward finishing in the second to goalkeeper Ayaka Yamashita's straight red card for a professional foul. The race for the WSL title is on.
Chelsea deserved the points - they were more at it than City on the day. They had the better of the first half with Ellie Carpenter, Melvine Malard and Alyssa Thompson all going close - before Baltimore smashed the Blues in front with a fierce finish from inside the box before half-time.
City have rescued six points from losing positions so far this season but were off colour in their pursuit of a route back.
Their best chance saw Khadija Shaw hook the ball over Hannah Hampton - but Lauren Hemp missed the ball completely from a yard out with the goal empty, with the effort ultimately bouncing wide of the far post.
And City's job was made harder when Yamashita was dismissed for rushing out, missing the ball and bringing down the electric Thompson - which earned her a straight red card. It could have been worse for City but Aggie Beever-Jones' resulting free-kick cannoned off the bar.
The result sees Chelsea move one point ahead of City at the top of the table, while third-placed London City Lionesses could go four points off the summit if they beat Arsenal on Sunday, live on .
The key moments from Stamford Bridge
4: ! Shaw causes havoc early doors, bursting into the box down the left and finding Aoba Fujino, who fires a huge chance wide of goal.
5: ! Malard does well to hold up a long ball, which falls to Thompson on the edge of the box but she blazes over.
9: ! Shaw goes on another mazy run, this time down the right - and her cross is deflected just wide of her own goal by Katie McCabe.
10: ! Malard goes up the other end and her deflected strike is kept out well by Yamashita.
20: ! Good work for Thompson sees her square for Carpenter at the back post but her shot is well blocked by Rebecca Knaak, with Malard lurking for a tap-in.
35: Malard comes off injured, joining Kadeisha Buchanan as the two Chelsea players to limp off in the first half.
45+4: Baltimore gives Chelsea a deserved lead with a stunning strike from just inside the box, before being taken off at half-time.
64: Shaw flicks the ball over Hampton but Hemp somehow cannot tap home from a yard out.
70: Carpenter is found at the back post all alone but rushes her finish, which is wildly off target.
72: Hemp blazes just over the top corner after being fed down the left wing.
76: City goalkeeper Yamashita rushes out to chase a long ball, but misses her kick and brings down Thompson.
79: Beever-Jones crashes the resulting free-kick off the bar, leaving substitute goalkeeper Eartha Cumings stranded.
90: ! Iman Beney blazes over from a good area after being played through by Beth Mead.
Analysis: Chelsea stifle Shaw as defensive run continues
Sky Sports' at Stamford Bridge:
For the first time in 20 matches, Khadija Shaw failed to register a shot on target in a Women's Super League game, dating back to November 2025.
Manchester City's key striker was pretty much a passenger - bar the chip over Hannah Hampton that led to Lauren Hemp missing from a yard out. But Shaw was the victim of some outstanding Chelsea defending.
At the heart of the Chelsea defensive effort was Lucy Bronze, who was everywhere. She won 12 out of her 14 duels - with that dozen duels twice as many as the next-best player on the pitch. In terms of interceptions, she managed seven. The rest of Chelsea's starters only managed five between them.
Another key player to stifle City was Katie McCabe, who had a brilliant all-round game. Only Lexi Potter (9) made more ball recoveries than the Republic of Ireland international on the day, while her long passing up towards Melvine Malard in the first half put City on the back foot.
Sonia Bompastor highlighted the importance of Bronze and McCabe's role in this win. "Having them, they bring a solid performance in terms of the defensive aspect - but they also bring a lot of leadership in the team to help the others around them as well to perform at their best."
Chelsea have the WSL's best defence by a country mile with only five goals conceded from 10 games. They have 10 clean sheets in their last 13 games across all competitions, having played Manchester United, Arsenal, Manchester City and Lyon in that period.
City may have Shaw but Chelsea have the defensive solidity in this WSL title race.
Analysis: Bompastor wins praise for tactical nous
"I know my player," responded Bompastor when questioned on whether the removal of Kadeisha Buchanan after 12 minutes was enforced or tactical. As it turned out the move was a bit of both.
The defender had taken a knock in training the day before. But it also did not go unnoticed how many times Aoba Fujino got in behind Chelsea's backline early in this contest of fine margins.
Bompastor acted without hesitation. Her tactical management of the game throughout was flawless given both Buchanan and Melvine Malard were lost in the first half. She got the better of Andree Jeglertz, whose second-half changes affected the flow of the game but did little to bring prize striker Bunny Shaw into play in better areas.
Chelsea were pragmatic but Bompastor was equally resolute in her decision making. The Frenchwoman asked her side to be ruthless pre-match and mirrored that bravery in her own approach.
Bompastor: An important psychological win
head coach :
"It's [an] important [win] in terms of the psychological aspects but also right now we are a team who are dropping points against other opponents.
"So I would be more pleased if we were able to win every single game [against the] top teams and [also] the teams we don't expect at the top.
"So yeah, it's really good and it's a nice feeling to be at the top of the table right now, to be able to have won the games against these top sides.
"But I know we still have a lot of work to be done and it's early on in the season, so many things can happen still."
Jeglertz: We deserved more than what we got
head coach :
"It's small details. It's a tight game, it's two great football teams. There's a lot of situations, there's a lot of battles in the game and they managed to score on their big chance from a great finish.
"We have also a couple of great opportunities where we don't manage to score. So it's small details but I think we deserve more than going away from here with no points.
"Of course [the red card] is always affecting when you're getting one player down.I think we were on the way to turn it around a little bit.
"So of course it changed but I also think the players dealt with it in a good way. So even though we were one player down I think we had a couple of great opportunities to score a goal after we were playing."