Millie Bright's stunner helps Chelsea beat Man City in women's Community Shield

Millie Bright’s stunning strike helped Chelsea beat Manchester City in the first women’s Community Shield since 2008. 

The Lionesses defender fired home a lightning bolt for the Blues from 25 yards to settle the contest, five minutes after City’s Jill Scott was sent off. 

Scot Erin Cuthbert’s goal in injury time wrapped up victory for Emma Hayes’s side, who passed up countless chances at Wembley. 

Chelsea, reigning Barclays FA Women’s Super League champions in 2019, won the first Shield contested since Arsenal beat Everton 1-0 at Macclesfield over a decade ago

Both sides took a knee in support of the Black Lives Matter movement before kick-off and there was an action-packed start.

Ballon D’Or nominee Sam Kerr was slipped in on goal by Ji So-yun and escaped the attentions of the City defence but could only stab her effort past the post on three minutes. 

Taylor’s side were frustrated by Chelsea’s low block and counter-attacking efforts early on but Georgia Stanway forced Ann-Katrin Berger into a flying save midway through the half. 

Despite Lauren Hemp feeling her hamstring and being withdrawn before the half-hour, City continued to press.

Chloe Kelly jinked past Millie Bright into the box and shaped to shoot but instead passed to Hemp’s replacement Janine Beckie, who tapped home from an offside position.  

Jill Scott nicked possession from Ji deep in Chelsea territory and Georgia Stanway tested Berger down to her right, before Kelly’s rebound rattled the foot of the right-hand post. 

Chelsea, knocked out by City in the semi-finals of the 2019 FA Cup, responded through overlapping Maren Mjelde hit the target from a tight angle and Ellie Roebuck saved. 

After the break, Kerr’s misfortune in front of goal continued as she failed to convert Fran Kirby’s perfectly weighted cross from a central position eight yards out. 

The second half sparked into life when Jill Scott was given her marching orders for an innocuous second yellow as she caught Ji following through on a sliding challenge.

Bright struck five minutes later when she found a pocket of space 25 yards out and planted a wicked, curling effort out of Roebuck’s reach into the roof of the net.

City struggled to challenge Chelsea in the closing stages and successive corners five minutes from time were as close as they got to a leveller.

Cuthbert pounced two minutes into injury-time when Mjelde’s cross was half cleared as she fired home from close range. 

Chelsea: 30 Ann-Katrin Berger, 18 Maren Mjelde, 4 Millie Bright, 16 Magdalena Eriksson, 25 Jonna Andersson, 8 Melanie Leupolz, 5 Sophie Ingle, 10 Ji So-yun, 14 Fran Kirby, 20 Sam Kerr, 11 Guro Reiten 

Substitutions: 22 Erin Cuthbert for Kirby 71', 9 Bethany England for Kerr 72', 21 Niamh Charles for Reiten 88', 25 Charlotte Fleming for Andersson 90+4'

Unused substitutes: 2 Maria Thorisdottir, 3 Hannah Blundell, 7 Jessica Carter, 17 Jessie Fleming, 24 Drew Spence, 28 Carly Telford

Goals: Millie Bright 66' & Erin Cuthbert 90+1'

Manager: Emma Hayes

Manchester City: 26 Ellie Roebuck, 14 Esme Morgan, 6 Steph Houghton, 4 Gemma Bonner, 3 Demi Stokes, 8 Jill Scott, 24 Keira Walsh, 19 Caroline Weir, 9 Chloe Kelly, 10 Georgia Stanway, 15 Lauren Hemp

Substitutions: 11 Janine Beckie for Hemp 26', 22 Sam Mewis for Weir 68',  18 Ellen White for Stanway 83'

Unused substitutes: 1 Karen Bardsley (GK), 5 Megan Campbell, 7 Laura Coombs, 16 Jess Park, 34 Karima Benameur (GK)

Yellow cards: Jill Scott 32' & 62'

Red cards: Jill Scott 62'

Manager: Gareth Taylor 

Referee: Rebecca Welch