While the first match of a campaign is rarely decisive, this encounter in SW6 felt important. A win against a fellow title hopeful, and a side we battled with five times last season, is a significant marker for the rest of the campaign –  and we remain unbeaten in domestic competition under Sonia Bompastor.

The game began exactly how you'd expect for a clash between two heavyweights of the Women's Super League. Both sides had chances to take the lead, although Chelsea did have the majority of the ball.

Making her debut at Stamford Bridge, Ellie Carpenter terrorised the opposition in the first half. She pushed up high as a wing-back, and it was the Australian who provided the cross for the opening goal that was finished, fresh off scoring a hat-trick in our final pre-season game last weekend, by Aggie Beever-Jones.

Man City came out firing in the second half, but it was the Blues who doubled the lead through Maika Hamano with just over an hour gone. Yet the visitors fought back and reduced the gap to just one goal when, in an attempt to defend the cross, Niamh Charles headed the ball into our own net.

Late stoppages due to injury sustained by Alex Greenwood and Lily Murphy saw the game tick past 100 minutes, but Chelsea managed to hang on to make a winning start to the season.

A special night under the lights

This was a special night at the Bridge. Before the match kicked off, our Euro winners showcased England's trophy alongside their Manchester City counterparts, and late summer addition Alyssa Thompson was also paraded in front of our fans.

City showed they would be a tough opponent from the start. With less than five minutes gone, striker Khadija Shaw tested Hannah Hampton with a powerful shot, but our goalkeeper was equal to it. Millie Bright then made a crucial interception from Vivianne Miedema, who was also looking like she would be a threat.

Then it was our turn to threaten. Summer arrival Carpenter fizzed a cross across the box from the right-hand side that Kerstin Casparij was forced to scoop the ball clear for a corner. From the opposite flank, Sandy Baltimore put in a dangerous cross that visiting goalkeeper Ayaka Yamashita collected.

The first genuine chance came after 18 minutes when Erin Cuthbert played a ball forward for Carpenter on the right. The Australia international put in another superb cross and found Baltimore, who turned and shot, but Yamashita palmed the ball around the post at the last second.

Chelsea had the lion's share of possession – 69.3 per cent between minute 15 and minute 30 – but Man City still had their chances, and Hampton did well to stay inside the box when she plucked the ball away from the head of Shaw with almost half an hour gone.

Beever-Jones strikes again

Then came the breakthrough. For the third time in the opening 30 minutes, Carpenter played the ball in from the right after a quick breakaway, and there was Beever-Jones to power the ball over Yamashita.

The visitors looked to strike back immediately. Hampton made herself big to make a top-class save from Shaw's close-range effort. Alex Greenwood smashed a well-hit free-kick onto the woodwork soon afterwards.

After the teams came out in the second half, the away side immediately pressed for the equaliser. Yui Hasegawa volleyed the ball towards goal, but again, Hampton was there to make the stop.

The pressure was increasing. Hasegawa went close again as she flashed her back-heeled shot just wide of the post.

Cat makes an impact

That was until Bompastor made a change. Beever-Jones was replaced by Catarina Macario, who instantly started a move that led to Wieke Kaptein putting in a cross from the right.

Our number nine unselfishly played a dummy that allowed Hamano to deliver the finish and put us two goals to the good.

No matter how well we had played, this was never going to be plain sailing against a capable Man City side. As a free-kick was swung in from their right-hand side, Charles went up in a crowd of players, and the ball unfortunately struck her head and went in.

The clock ticked down, and the visitors continued to search for an equaliser. With eight minutes of normal time remaining, Hampton pulled off another excellent save – her fifth of the evening – from a Lily Murphy shot.

Both Greenwood and Murphy went down with late injuries as the match fizzled out in the final stages. But Chelsea hung on, got the first three points in the bag, and extended Bompastor's unbeaten run in domestic competitions into her second season.

What it means

We begin our season with three points in front of the home crowd at Stamford Bridge.

What comes next

We take on Aston Villa in our second Women's Super League match of the season at Villa Park on Sunday 14 September at 12 noon.

The teams

Chelsea: Hampton; Carpenter, Bright (c), Bjorn, Charles, Baltimore (Rytting Kaneryd 77); Walsh, Cuthbert (Jean-Francois 77), Kaptein (Nusken 85); Hamano, Beever-Jones (Macario 62)
Unused Substitutes: Peng, Buurman, Reiten, Kerr, Potter
Scorers: Beever-Jones 31, Hamano 64'

Manchester City: Yamashita, Rose, Greenwood (c) Ouahabi 90+4, Shaw, Miedema (Beney 85), Hemp, Casparij, Lohmann (Blindkilde Brown 78), Hasegawa, Prior, Murphy
Unused Substitutes: Keating, Layzell, Coombs, Wienroither, Thomas, Lewis
Scorers: Charles OG 70
Booked: Lohmann 56

Referee: Emily Heaslip