Arsenal v Chelsea LIVE: Women’s Super League result and reaction as Gunners shake up title race
Arsenal 4-1 Chelsea: Rampant Gunners put themselves in the hunt for the WSL title with a superb performance in front of record crowd at the Emirates
Arsenal striker Alessia Russo scored twice as her side hammered Women’s Super League leaders Chelsea 4-1 at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday in front of a league-record crowd of 59,042, blowing the title race wide open in the process.
Arsenal forward Beth Mead opened the scoring in the eighth minute, finishing off a dogged attack by keeping a cool head to cut back inside Niamh Charles and fire into the roof of the net with her weaker left foot.
The lead lasted all of five minutes as Chelsea winger Johanna Rytting Kaneryd netted a similar effort to Mead’s, shifting inside Steph Catley to create a bit of space and scoring with a low shot that flew in at the near post.
Rytting Kaneryd’s Sweden international team mate Amanda Ilestedt headed Arsenal back into the lead in the 36th minute, and Russo added a quick-fire third less than two minutes later as Chelsea’s defence floundered.
Blues coach Emma Hayes made a triple change at the break but it made little difference as they continued to struggle to find any fluency in attack. Any hope of a comeback was snuffed out when Ann-Katrin Berger conceded a penalty for a foul on Russo, who scored from the spot in the 74th minute.
Chelsea striker Sam Kerr had a chance to reduce the deficit deep into stoppage time but her header from Fran Kirby’s cross lacked power as Arsenal comfortably held on to win.
Follow along for all the updates plus get the latest football odds and tips right here:
Arsenal vs Chelsea
Mead got her first WSL goals of the season before the break and added another goal while on duty with England. The winger has 11 goal involvements (8 goals, 3 assists) against Chelsea in the WSL, with only Toni Duggan (13) managing more against the Blues.
With her brace against West Ham last time out, Mead also became the second-ever player to reach 100 goal involvements in the WSL, along with Vivianne Miedema.
Could she be the difference maker here today?
Emma Hayes - 'Arsenal have outstanding qualities’
Despite her envious record against the north Londoners, Emma Hayes is under no illusion how trick today’s game will be. Arsenal have built an experienced side under Jonas Eidevall, with summer signings Russo, Cooney-Cross and Ilestedt all adding to the squad’s quality.
“I think they’ve got more depth than ever. It’s a team that’s been together, a lot of them, for a period of time, so they’ve got a lot of experience, but they’ve also got a lot of new players who are adding qualities to their team,” Hayes said ahead of the match
“They’ve scored the most goals in 90-plus minutes in the league. They’ve fought their way to be in the position they are but they have outstanding qualities. They’ve recruited and signed a lot of players and they’ve got players who are good enough to play for any team in the world.”
Arsenal vs Chelsea
Speaking of the task at hand, it’s a tough one for today’s hosts. Arsenal have won just one of their last nine WSL games against Chelsea (D3 L5), beating them 3-2 at the Emirates Stadium in September 2021.
Can they upset the odds here today?
Lia Walti - ‘Pressure is part of our job'
As they seek to claim their first WSL title since 2019, Arsenal know they must be near perfect to usurp defending champions Chelsea. That notion is not lost on instrumental midfielder Walti who knows that fixtures like today’s can end up making all the difference.
“The entire season is still very young, but we all know these games can make the difference in the end,” she said ahead of the game. We have done well with results against Manchester City and Manchester United - but it’s going to be an even bigger game against Chelsea.
“To be in the middle of [the title race] is a lot of pressure. But pressure is part of our job. It can also be really nice. If you end up winning these games, it feels even better than if it wasn’t so tight.
“In the past it was maybe fun because you knew you were probably going to win trophies, but I think it means so much more if you win trophies right now because you know how good the competition is.”
International break heartache
For members of the England squad, this will be their first match back since their heartbreaking night in Glasgow. Despite winning 6-0 against Scotland, Sarina Wiegman’s side fell agonisingly short of finishing top of the group after Netherlands scored twice in injury time to pip them to first place.
That result ended any hopes of Team GB being represented at next summer’s Olympics.
Read Jamie Braidwood’s analysis of the evening and the silver lining behind their dramatic exit:
How Lionesses went from glory to Olympics heartbreak – and why it could benefit them
The Lionesses missed out on the chance to qualify for the Paris Olympics as part of Team GB – but players are not ‘robots’ and after two years of success, a free summer could be what England need
Before the international break
It’s been a while since the last WSL encounters, so a quick reminder of where we left off.
Arsenal maintained the pressure on Chelsea at the top of the table with a convincing 3-0 win over West Ham, with Beth Mead scoring her first goals since her return from ACL injury.
They sit on 19 points, three behind Chelsea who are yet to lose this season. Last time out, Lauren James scored twice as they stretched their winning run to six games in the league with a 5-2 victory over Leicester.
Chelsea team news
The visitors, meanwhile, also make two changes. Kirby and Ingle drop to the bench as Fleming and Nusken come into the side.
Chelsea XI: Berger; Perisset, Mjelde, Carter, Charles; Nusken, Cuthbert; Rytting Kaneryd, Fleming, James; Kerr.
Arsenal team news
Two changes for Arsenal from their last game before the international break. Little and Walti come back into the side as Maanun and Cooney-Cross drop to the bench. It also looks like Russo will play through the middle.
Arsenal XI: Zinsberger; McCabe, Ilestedt, Wubben-Moy, Catley; Pelova, Walti; Mead, Little, Foord, Russo.
Arsenal vs Chelsea - team news
The teams are in:
Arsenal: Zinsberger; McCabe, Ilestedt, Wubben-Moy, Catley; Pelova, Walti; Mead, Little, Foord, Russo.
Chelsea: Berger; Perisset, Mjelde, Carter, Charles; Nusken, Cuthbert; Rytting Kaneryd, Fleming, James; Kerr.
Arsenal vs Chelsea - team news
We’ve got about five minutes until team news hits but here is what we know for now:
For Arsenal, Lina Hurtig is a doubt after pulling out of Sweden’s international camp while Leah Williamson and Laura Wienroither are long-term absentees.
Meanwhile, Chelsea’s Millie Bright remains out with a knee injury but Melanie Leupolz and Guro Reiten are available again.
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