Szeke Nusken scored a dramatic late goal in a 4-3 win against Aston Villa to lift Chelsea into second place in the WSL.
The Blues’ Champions League hopes looked set to be dealt another blow when Villa came from 3-1 down to level the score in a breathless first half.
But Nasken scored with eight minutes remaining, ending the six-time champions’ slim title hopes, at least mathematically, as they trail Manchester City by nine points.
Against Kingsmeadow, Lucy Bronze handed the ball to Chasity Grant to give Villa a shock lead with less than two minutes remaining.
The Dutch winger played the ball to Lynn Willms, who reached the near post, met the cross and slotted the ball past Hannah Hampton.
Chelsea equalized in the 20th minute when Sam Kerr, returning from Asian Cup duty with Australia, caught a pass from Nasken and fired home.
Chelsea’s Lauren James (right) celebrates after scoring her third goal.
Within seven minutes, the Blues were 3-1 up, with Naomi Girma scoring her first WSL goal when she tapped Lauren James’ cross into the net.
James, who scored Chelsea’s goal in Tuesday’s 3-1 Champions League first leg defeat to Arsenal, smashed home his third from 20 yards.
But five minutes later Villa hit back and Wilms’ cross was met by Kirsty Hanson, who slipped in front of the Bronze and fired home.
Aston Villa’s Kirsty Hanson celebrates scoring the equalizer to level the score at 3-3
And the visitors scored six goals in a crazy first 35 minutes, when Willms tried to cross and Hanson buried the ball.
Chelsea dominated the second half and missed a clear chance when Alyssa Thompson headed home from four yards.
Chelsea’s Sam Kerr scores to make it 1-1
However, the winner came when Ellie Carpenter won the ball in midfield and Kerr teed it up for the first time into the corner.
Bompastor: Players relieved with victory
Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastre told Sky Sports:
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Sonia Bompastre expressed her joy and relief after Chelsea’s dramatic 4-3 win over Aston Villa at Kingsmeadow. This result kept Chelsea’s hopes of winning the WSL title alive and gave them a huge boost heading into the tournament.
“As you can see, there was a lot of joy and a certain sense of relief, because the reality is that at the moment we are fighting for a place in the Champions League and this win is huge. It was very important for us to win and the celebration reflected that.”
“They scored the first goal and I thought we had a great reaction from there. We were able to score three goals and to be honest, when you’re leading 3-1 you need to control the game more, especially considering you’re at home and the experience you have in the team. If you look at the first half, they had three shots on goal and scored three goals. It wasn’t enough for us.”
Regarding the WSL and title race standings:
“Certainly (there is hope). The most important thing for the players, staff and me is to focus on one game at a time. We go into every game as prepared as we can. That’s our mentality. We know it’s going to be difficult until the end, but we’ll fight. I’m really proud of our players.”
Arroyo: I was disappointed in the loss, but the performance brought a smile to my face.
Aston Villa manager Natalia Arroyo told Sky Sports.
“We were a bit frustrated in the final stages of the game. We struggled a lot in the second half. They were coming in with crosses and we were defending the box well. We tried to push higher and made one mistake, but they were clinical.”
Chasity Grant scores early in the first half to put Villa ahead against Kingsmeadow.
“At the end of the day, I think we should be proud of the way we entered the game, how we came back from three goals down. I think it was an interesting game. We started dreaming of getting the three points. It showed how competitive we are and the character we’re trying to build.”
“It was a close call, but at least our performance makes us smile a little bit. There were some really good moments.”
