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FULL TIME: CHELSEA WINNNNN THE COMMUNITY SHIELD, 2-0!!

90+5min: Chelsea give the ball away in the defensive third, but a great sliding tackle from Eriksson prevents any further danger.

90+4min: Andersson down after a strong challenge, holding her back. Fleming on for the last few seconds.

90+1min: GOALLLLL!!! CUTHBERT!!! Finally. Another Chelsea attack, with Mjelde crossing for England. City half clear, but the ball runs to Cuthbert, who makes no mistake by hammering it into the roof of the net. 2-0, CHELSEA! Game. Set. Match.

90min: City have a corner. They push everyone forward. Bright heads out, but City win another corner. Kelly takes again, outswinger, Berger misses her punch but the ball goes harmlessly through the area. Eriksson eventually clears after City play it back around. And Cuthbert runs it out of bounds by the City corner flag.

88min: Charles on for Reiten.

84min: Ji this time with the shot, well over from 20 yards out. Another shot immediately after is blocked by Bonner.

83min: Ji wins the ball, finds Cuthbert, she jinks and jukes but has her square ball into the area cut out again.

82min: Another Chelsea attack down the left, another half-chance for England, another City clearance. Houghton back on, looks okay to continue.

79min: Great through ball from Ji to Cuthbert down the right, but her low cross is cut out for a corner. In that comes, Roebuck punches clear, taking Houghton in the process. The game’s stopped for her head injury.

76min: England does get her shot in this time, after a square ball from Ji, but her effort goes over the bar.

75min: Reiten ball in from the left; Bonner clears just ahead of England. Chelsea really should be up by more than just the one goal.

73min: England immediately into the action, leading a break and playing wide to Ji in the right channel. She bears down on goal, but the goalkeeper’s equal to her shot.

71min: Double change for Chelsea, with Cuthbert on for Kirby and England on for Kerr.

70min: Chelsea in again, but overplay the situation. Ji’s eventual shot is straight at the goalkeeper.

69min: Reiten down the left, puts in a deep cross, which City half clear, only as far as an arriving Leupolz, but her powerful effort flashes just over the bar.

68min: Mewis on for City.

66min: GOALLLLL!!! BRIGHT! The Chelsea defender takes the square ball from Ji, and goes for a 30-yard piledriver, which is just over the fingertips of City goalkeeper Roebuck. 1-0, CHELSEA!!

65min: Chelsea’s first corner after Andersson ventures forward and has her cutback cut out. City clear the corner at the near post.

64min: Kirby trying to wriggle through on the right side, plays a couple 1-2s, but is eventually crowded out.

63min: Chelsea with a half-chance immediately after, but the cross eludes both Kerr and Kirby.

62min: Scott sent off for City! Ji down behind the previous play, getting a knee into the back after going for a 50-50 with Scott, who arrived late. Referee played advantage, but came back to give Scott her marching orders with a second yellow.

61min: And now it’s Chelsea’s turn, finding Kerr breaking beyond the line. She’s in 1-v-1 again, but once again gets her shot all wrong.

60min: City come alive and find Stanway splitting the defenders with a great through ball. But she puts her shot wide of the far post.

59min: Leupolz fouls Kelly on the left, level with the top of the penalty area. She swings in the free kick, but Berger’s alertly off her line to pluck it out of the air safely.

56min: Ji trying to pull the strings, finding Mjelde, but her chip into the area is collected by the goalkeeper. Chelsea having the better of the play at the moment.

54min: Chelsea play out nicely and Kerr’s away on the left flank. But her cross towards Kirby is cut out well by Bonner.

52min: Kirby and Ji linking up well on the right flank, but Ji gets her cross all wrong.

51min: Kelly goes for an early shot from 25 yards out, but Berger’s wise to it. Might have been heading wide anyway.

50min: Ji wins the ball after a foul on Kirby goes uncalled, and Chelsea link up nicely to find Kerr. But she’s closed down by two as she shoots, and can only hit it straight at the goalkeeper.

48min: Kerr completes her hattrick of big misses after Chelsea find Kirby down the right with a great ball, and she lays in a perfect ball for Kerr. All she has to do is hit tap it in with the left foot, but inexplicably she puts it on the wrong side of the post!

SECOND HALF: No changes for either side as Chelsea restart proceedings.

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HALF TIME: Plenty of chances for either side, with Kerr alone missing a couple good ones. City scored one from an offside position and hit the post as well. But somehow it’s still 0-0.

45+3min: City end the half with a corner, which requires a goalline block from Chelsea as City squeeze in a tight angle shot from a second ball. Kerr eventually clear over her own bar and the referee calls time on the first half.

45+1min: Two great crosses in quick succession from Chelsea, from Kerr and Mjelde, but a bit of desperate defending sees City survive, and just.

44min: Chelsea force a turnover in midfield and suddenly it’s 2-v-1 with Kerr and Ji, but the latter’s touch is uncharacteristically loose and the lone City defender can stop the attack. Plenty of rust in this early season exhibition.

43min: Leupolz wins the ball, finding Kirby, who in turn finds an overlapping Mjelde with a nice through ball. The cross from the right is an easy grab from the goalkeeper however.

42min: Bright half-blocks a shot from Stanway; Eriksson completes the clearance.

41min: Another cross from the right by Chelsea, just over the head of Kerr after Houghton misses her header.

39min: Chelsea push down the right and a great ball finds Mjelde making the overlapping run. Her low cross almost results in an own goal, but Roebuck makes the save without knowing much about it.

37min: Another chance for Kerr as she bets her marker in the left channel, but she can’t get the required curl on the ball and it goes wide of the far post. Chelsea then attack down the right, but City defend well to clear a cross with two waiting.

35min: A loose touch from Ji turns the ball over in a dangerous area, but Berger saves from Stanway and Kelly hits the post from the rebound. Lucky.

33min: Ji goes for a disguised effort around the wall, but her shot hits Eriksson ... the ball spins up and over the wall and Kerr finds it first, but puts her header just wide of the far post. Chance, that.

32min: Leupolz wins the ball in midfield and Chelsea can counter. Ji shapes to shoot from 20 yards, but she’s tackled from behind by Scott, who gets a yellow. Free kick in a great position for Chelsea.

31min: City threatening again, but Berger gets two fists to it and Chelsea eventually clear.

30min: Kerr is in 1-v-1 after a great long ball from Bright, but she’s flagged offside even though replays show that she might’ve been onside. (No VAR for this game unfortunately.)

29min: Kelly, having switched flanks after City subbing on Beckie, beats three on the left and beats the goalkeeper as well with a square ball for Beckie, but she’s clearly offside as she taps the ball home. Letoff for Chelsea.

27min: City make the sub after a brief stoppage. Chelsea work the ball nicely on the right flank after the restart, and aim an early ball towards Kerr in the center. Goalkeeper off her line quickly to collect.

25min: Hemp down for City with an apparent hamstring injury. It doesn’t look like she’ll be able to continue.

23min: City have a free kick on the right flank, which is swung in. Berger comes, then changes her mind; fortunately the cross is too deep for everyone.

22min: Big save by Berger, as Stanway powers one at goal from 20 yards after City had pushed through several in the left channel and Bright had half-cleared the ball.

20min: Kirby presses and wins the ball, but her cross is cut out. City then try to play out, but Ingle intercepts. But Chelsea manage to stray offside.

18min: Berger plucks another cross out of the air, with City attacking down the right.

17min: Ji tracks all the way back to the penalty area to help out Andersson, winning the ball from Kelly who had cut insde.

16min: Good defending by Eriksson prevents Stanway from finding the ball in the area. Chelsea turn around quickly to play out, switching to the left for Andersson who finds Reiten. Her ball is overhit however, with Kerr lurking in the area.

13min: City find Kelly in space on the right; her cross is chested out for a corner by Eriksson. Berger punches that clear. City then give it away and Chelsea can counter. Ji makes a fool of her marker on the right flank, but her cross is cleared just ahead of Kerr.

11min: Ingle angles a ball towards Kerr, but it’s a bit too strong and the goalkeeper can collect.

10min: City create from the left, finding Kelly in space in the area, but Bright steps to her well and wins the ball cleanly. Chelsea counter with Ji and Kirby, but the latter’s fouled to put a stop to that.

7min: Chelsea push down the left, with Reiten finding space in the channel. But her left-footed cross/shot is harmless. Chelsea then waste another half-chance after intercepting a pass out from the back.

5min: City attack down the right, but Eriksson shields the ball well over the touchline, winning a foul as well. Scott, who fouled her, stays down and because she’s actually off the pitch, play is made to continue.

3min: City hold the ball, but Kirby wins the ball in the center circle, finding Ji, who releases Kerr with a great through ball. She’s past her man and bearing down on goal 1-v-1, but inexplicably her shot doesn’t end up in the back of the net. Huge chance; surprising miss.

1min: City win an early corner; Berger catches the inswinger on her line.

KICK-OFF: The teams are out as the pyrotechnics fire and the anthem is heard. City, in light blue and white, get us underway. Chelsea hold things up with a late huddle, and both teams take a knee, before City kick off.

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This game feels like a much bigger game than on the men’s side, and not just because it’s the first time we have a Women’s Community Shield since 2008. The fact that it’s the two best teams in the land, both with aspirations in Europe after making waves in the transfer market certainly doesn’t hurt either.

So, here we go!

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Chelsea FCW starting lineup (4-3-3):
Berger | Andersson, Eriksson (c), Bright, Mjelde | Reiten, Ingle, Leupolz | Kirby, Ji, Kerr

Substitutes from: Telford, Thorisdottir, Carter, Spence, Cuthbert, Charles, Fleming, England

Manchester City WFC starting XI:
Roebuck | Stokes, Bonner, Houghton (c), Scott, Kelly, Stanway, Morgan, Hemp, Weir, Walsh

Substitutes from: Bardsley, Benameur-Taieb, Campbell, Coombs, Beckie, Park, White, Mewis

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Date / Time: Saturday, August 29, 2020, 12.30 BST; 7:30am EDT; 5pm IST
Venue: Wembley Stadium, London, England
Referee: Rebecca Welch

On TV: BBC One (UK); none (USA); elsewhere
Streaming: BBC iPlayer (UK); ESPN+ (USA); The FA Player (ROW) — We (WAGNH) have an affiliate link for ESPN+ if you’re in the US and would like to sign up for the best value in sports streaming (or for the Disney-Hulu-ESPN+ bundle).

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Be excellent to each other, and party on, dudes!