Chelsea’s hopes of retaining their WSL title for a seventh successive season are now within reach after a clinical second-half defeat by Arsenal 2-0 at Stamford Bridge.
It was Chelsea’s second defeat in four games after their 34-game unbeaten run in the league was halted by Everton last month, but Manchester City have a chance to move within nine points with games remaining when they visit London City Lionesses on Sunday, which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports.
Despite facing increasingly difficult challenges, Chelsea head coach Sonia Bompastre has refused to throw in the towel on her team’s title chances.
“It will be even more difficult if City win tomorrow. Nine points would be a big difference,” she said. “My mentality is to keep working hard and give it my all.
“The difference is big, but nothing is impossible. We need to focus on what we can control to protect second place while putting as much pressure on Man City as possible. It will be tough until the end. There are nine games left and that’s the job we have to do.”
Arsenal deserved their first win at Chelsea in eight years, although the hosts rarely looked close to their best until Lauren James was brought on in the second half. Despite having to force seven corner kicks and having plenty of space on the flanks, only one shot was on target in the first period, with both teams falling short on the final ball.
Had Arsenal been better, the Gunners could have taken the lead within 90 seconds as Katie McCabe’s shot was converted by Stina Braxtenius, but her hesitation could have given her the lead before her final shot was deflected wide.
Something needed to change in a game where the scoring didn’t suit either team, and nine minutes after the interval they scored the opening goal with a well-worked drive past England teammate Hannah Hampton from an angle where an Arsenal overload had left space for Mead.
The Gunners’ own hopes of winning the WSL title may have all but ended, but they were firmly within a point of second-placed Blues after the break, with Mariona Caldenti’s finish from the edge of the box keeping Hampton unfazed and building a two-goal cushion.
Beth Meade opened the scoring for Arsenal nine minutes after half-time.
Erin Cuthbert should have halved the deficit with 15 minutes left, but from a James cross he headed a free shot wide of Anneke Barbu’s unguarded post. The hosts continued to look for a comeback as time expired, but a finishing touch was still avoided and this defeat may have finally meant goodbye to the WSL trophy.
“Who is the real winner at Stamford Bridge? Manchester City”
Ron Walker of Sky Sports at Stamford Bridge:
“There’s nothing to be gained from Arsenal that would make a win at Stamford Bridge worthwhile. But the real winners of their visit are Manchester City, who will lift the WSL trophy if they beat London City Lionesses as expected on Sunday.”
“Andrii Jegratz’s side have been a strong team this season, but Chelsea have fallen three points from the top and have to think only of themselves due to a number of unforced errors.
“Losing to Everton set off further alarm bells as Arsenal are unbeatable, but Chelsea ignored that for large parts of the game. It’s not often you see an opponent wanting more, but that was the worst accusation you could make against the Blues and was probably more worrying than the result itself.”
Sleggers: I felt particularly clear going into the match.
Arsenal manager Rene Sleggers:
“This team does it when it’s called for, when it really needs to be done. This team has a lot of strength.
“One of our strengths today was that we went into the game with a lot of clarity, and they continued to go into the game with a clear mind to make the right decisions and stay focused on the task.
“That’s what I like about this performance. We were willing to suffer from start to finish. We did that. We are two teams that like to get results quickly.”
“We came out really strong today. It was important to control the tempo and manage the game, especially in the second half when we had substitutes and when we changed formations.”
Bompastor refuses to blame players for defeat
Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastre:
“Every game, we have a game plan. Most of the time it’s based on our game model, but sometimes there are certain things. Defensively we left them too much space, they were too comfortable on the ball, and we weren’t aggressive enough.”
“Those two things were in the game plan and we didn’t execute well enough, but it’s my responsibility to give the players clarity. It’s not the players’ responsibility, it’s my responsibility.”
