It was a crucial match in the season, with a crowd of over 30,000 buying tickets for the potential WSL title decider.
Chelsea seized control of the Women’s Super League title race by delivering a commanding 3-1 victory over London rivals Arsenal at Stamford Bridge. This win effectively dashed the Gunners’ slim hopes of clinching WSL glory this season.
Kit Fiasco
Kick-off was delayed by 30 minutes as Arsenal had to change into black Chelsea away socks
The start of the highly anticipated clash between Chelsea and Arsenal in the Women’s Super League title race was delayed by 30 minutes due to a kit clash.
This delay occurred because the Gunners arrived at Stamford Bridge with the wrong socks. Despite the setback, Arsenal went on to lose 3-1 to their title rivals.
The scheduled 7 pm kickoff was postponed due to Arsenal, the visiting team, needing to switch to black socks purchased from the Chelsea club shop.
Initially warming up in white socks, Arsenal had to make the change as they clashed with Chelsea’s home kit.
The black socks Arsenal switched to featured blue trim, indicating they were likely purchased from the Chelsea club shop.
To adapt, Arsenal players had to wear tape over the Chelsea badge, which was located midway up the sock, ensuring compliance with regulations and avoiding any confusion or conflicts during the match.
Lauren James Sensation
However, the kit fiasco is the least of Jonas Eidevall’s side’s problems as Chelsea moves 6 points clear after goals from Sjoeke Nusken and Lauren James.
With a commanding six-point lead over Jonas Eidevall’s side, the Blues delivered a spectacular first-half performance, dismantling their visitors in a manner reminiscent of what the Gunners had done to them in the reverse fixture at Emirates Stadium.
Back in December, Emma Hayes’ side suffered a harsh 3-0 defeat. However, they executed a flawless revenge mission at their west London home. Lauren James’ opening goal was complemented by two strikes from Sjoeke Nusken before halftime.
Jonas Eidevall Admits Tactical Mistakes
In the post-match interview, Eidevall said, speaking to Sky Sports, “I think we played to their strengths in the first half. They’re very compact and aggressive.”
“They counter-attack very well and we turned over the ball too easily with too little balance behind. We get punished on the counter and they were ruthless.”
When asked about his team’s title race hopes, he escaped giving a direct answer: “I’m looking at this game here. I’m not happy with our performance. That’s all I’m focused on.”
“We should be unsatisfied with the way we performed as a team because that’s not our levels. I need to take accountability for that, we need to learn from that and we need to go next week.”
With only 6 games remaining, Arsenal faces a significant challenge to mount a comeback.
They currently trail Chelsea by 6 points, and if Manchester City secures a victory against Brighton on Sunday, Arsenal could find themselves trailing them by 6 points as well.
Their focus will most probably switch now to the Conti Cup final to save what is surely a bad season with the early UEFA Women’s Champions League exit in the qualifying rounds and the unstable performances in the Women’s Super League.
Chelsea’s Quadruple Quest Is On
For Chelsea, it’s another big step on their quest for the quadruple. Despite Sam Kerr’s absence, they can undoubtedly rely on the capabilities of Lauren James.
The Lioness has now scored 13 goals and added an assist in 14 Women’s Super League matches this season.
On scoring another goal at Stamford Bridge, James said post-match “the staff have a little joke: new hairstyle, Stamford bridge. I just want to continue trying to help the team and scoring as many goals as possible.”
Read the full article here
