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The Blues and United both maintained their unbeaten starts to the WSL campaign, although the title holders' perfect victorious streak was brought to an end by an entertaining match between the leading teams.

The result extended Manchester United's frustratingly long wait for a first WSL win over the Blues but they will have taken great encouragement from their performance, on a evening when each side generated numerous opportunities to win and the home side demonstrated they could very well have the attributes to mount a serious championship bid.

Fast-Paced Start Sees Early Scores

For a match played between the sides with the two best defensive statistics in the WSL last term, and which had allowed the fewest scores so far this season before the start, the game started in a surprisingly open fashion as both pushed forward early on.

The contest opened at such a rapid pace that it could easily have been 2-2 within the opening moments, with Hannah Hampton stopping with her legs from Elisabeth Terland, Catarina Macario's shot being blocked by Le Tissier, Jess Park shooting just over the crossbar and then Aggie Beever‑Jones following suit when she certainly seemed certain to find the net.

Chelsea then score the goal the initial burst of offensive moves had promised, as Wieke Kaptein met Macario's clever flicked ball and placed a precise, deadly finish low into the side of the net, as the home team let in a league goal for only the second occasion this term.

Anna Sandberg's Stunning Equaliser

United had lost 10 of their prior 11 Women's Super League meetings with the Blues, but this confident iteration of Marc Skinner's team were not prepared to roll over.

Driven by the dribbling of Park, who seemed intent to dance her way past as many opposition players as possible and was the driving force of her team's attacking style, they continued to generate chances and they were quickly back on terms when Anna Sandberg netted her maiden strike for the team.

She could not have struck her strike any better, positioning her foot expertly over the sphere to drive a first-time effort powerfully beyond the keeper from only outside the box.

Solemn Atmosphere Amid Bad Weather

The game was played amid Storm Amy, which brought driving precipitation and gusts of wind, and commenced with a minute’s reflection following the terrorist attack on a place of worship in the city on Thursday, with the home side also wearing armbands as a sign of respect.

Additionally, the two sides joined together in a circle before the game against racial discrimination at the beginning of Black History Month, in a time when the Peterborough United footballer Rai experienced racist abuse.

The England and Tottenham forward Jessica Naz was the target of racism online over a week previously.

Improved Manchester United Push Chelsea

The match took place at the ground where Chelsea secured last season’s championship, with a 1-0 win in a game that had been quite even.

However, this looks like a significantly better Manchester United squad from that time, however, and they persisted to threaten in the latter period, with Rolfö's deflected effort floating on to the upper part of the bar before Park's swerving attempt flew just over.

Melvine Malard, introduced from the bench, dragged a low shot off target with over twenty minutes remaining.

Late Drama Results in Division of Points

Marc Skinner had stated on Wednesday that he desired his side to be brave and “show Chelsea that you can beat them”, and they definitely seemed to react to his motivational words as they continued to perform with intensity and attacking intent, while the visitors remained dangerous at the opposite side too, with Beever-Jones coming near.

So great was the level of the challenge Chelsea were being presented with, there was even a rare moment of frustration from Sonia Bompastor, with the visiting coach shown a yellow card in the second half after she complained about a set-piece call awarded to her side.

The Blues' Sjoeke Nüsken bent an effort just off target of a upright as the visitors started to search for a late decisive goal, and Alyssa Thompson was almost able to race forward on to a loose ball inside the box but she was challenged by the alert home goalkeeper Tullis-Joyce, who also sprang low to her side to keep out a Walsh shot moments after.

Guro Reiten had a attempt deflected in added time, as late Chelsea pressure grew, but ultimately a tie was a relatively fair result and prepares the round's fixtures up perfectly before the other two title contenders, Manchester City and Arsenal, go head-to-head on the weekend.

They will be eager to capitalise on the leaders and Manchester United sharing a point, with City able to move to just one point of the leaders if they win.