Chelsea began their Women's Super League campaign with a draw as Veerle Buurman's 79th-minute own goal helped Aston Villa salvage a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge. 

In a week when they also secured a spot in this year's Champions League, Sonia Bompastor's side failed to make their dominance count after Lauren James' first-half opener. 

The hosts started on the front foot and quickly tested Akane Okuma, with Lucy Bronze's drive from distance having to be tipped over the crossbar by the visiting goalkeeper. 

But Okuma was picking the ball out of her net in the 11th minute when James shifted the ball onto her left foot before rifling a fierce shot in at the near post for the opening goal. 

Chelsea's grip on the match tightened from there as Aggie Beever-Jones' attempt was repelled by Okuma, but the Villans were able to hold on until the break, with Keira Walsh's scuffed effort bringing the curtain down on a controlled first half. 

Amalie Vangsgaard came close to netting an unlikely equaliser nine minutes after the restart, but she fired wide of the near post before the pattern of the game resumed. 

Okuma got down low to deny Ellie Carpenter before Walsh crashed a shot from a corner routine against the crossbar, with Beever-Jones then seeing a goal ruled out for offside. 

But the Blues were hit with a sucker punch 11 minutes from time when Lynn Wilms' cross was not dealt with by Chelsea's defence, allowing Noelle Maritz to shoot. Hannah Hampton was able to save, but the rebound struck Buurman and bounced into the net. 

Chelsea had a glorious chance to snatch the win in the 90th minute, but after Bronze's cross fell kindly to James, Okuma produced a stunning close-range stop to ensure Villa would leave with a precious point. 

All bark no bite from Chelsea

Among the Opta supercomputers pre-match simulations for MD1 in the WSL, Chelsea were given the highest chance of victory with an 83.4% win probability, and despite dominating possession and creating the better chances, they failed to get themselves over the line. 

Chelsea had won their previous 12 WSL meetings against Villa ahead of Saturday's clash, with Natalia Arroyo leading the Villans to their first-ever point against the Blues in the top flight, though the visitors had Okuma to thank for a string of outstanding stops. 

On what was her WSL debut after signing from INAC Kobe Leonessa this summer, Okuma made nine saves in the match, with the best of the bunch coming right at the death to thwart James' attempt. 

Leicester City (52) were the only team to concede more goals than Villa in the WSL in 2025-26, and with Okuma between the sticks, based off this performance, they have certainly upgraded in that department. 

But for all of Chelsea's quality in the final third, they failed to make it count. They finished with an expected goals (xG) total of 3.10 from a whopping 34 shots compared to Villa's total of 0.56 from their seven attempts at Hampton's net.