Chelsea ramped up the pressure on under-fire Arsenal head coach Jonas Eidevall as the Blues moved top of the Women’s Super League table with a 2-1 win at the Emirates Stadium.
After a 0-0 draw against Everton last weekend was followed by a 5-2 thrashing by Bayern Munich in midweek, Arsenal boss Eidevall was under huge pressure pre-match – and it ramped up significantly as Chelsea ran into a 2-0 lead after 16 minutes in front of 45,860 fans at the Emirates.
First, Arsenal’s defensive set-piece woes continued as the Gunners failed to clear from their first corner of the game, allowing the impressive Mayra Ramirez to hook in an overhead finish from inside the box. It was the fifth goal Arsenal have conceded from a set piece since Wednesday.
Then Arsenal’s defending was nowhere to be seen as Sandy Baltimore ran off the back of Beth Mead to finish from close range, to send the home fans silent, barring a few boos around the ground.
The boos were set to be worse at half-time but Caitlin Foord’s stunning solo strike improved the home mood at the interval. The Australian winger beat Lucy Bronze down the left and curled a superb finish from a tight angle through Kadeisha Buchanan and Hannah Hampton’s dive.
Arsenal held most of the ball in the second half but Chelsea still looked the most likely to add to the scoreline for most of it.
Some last-ditch defending from Lotte Wubben-Moy denied Lauren James in the box while substitute Aggie Beever-Jones was denied by Gunners goalkeeper Daphne Van Domselaar with a superb stop. The Gunners shot-stopper needed more heroics to deny the Chelsea forward in stoppage time with a one-on-one.
But Arsenal were inches away from an equaliser themselves when substitute Stina Blackstenius was found unmarked from a free-kick but somehow crashed the ball off the bar with Hannah Hampton all but beaten. The Chelsea goalkeeper was also equal to Alessia Russo’s fierce volley in stoppage time.
Chelsea held on for another statement win and Emma Hayes watching on from the directors’ box for the first time since leaving the club added to the significance. Hayes had never managed to beat Arsenal at the Emirates but new boss Sonia Bompastor has managed it on the first attempt.
Arsenal, meanwhile, are now four points behind the Blues having played a game more.
What’s next for Arsenal and Chelsea?
The games continue to come thick and fast for Arsenal as they prepare for their second Women’s Champions League group stage game against Valerenga on Wednesday (October 16).
Chelsea will get an extra day of rest before they face FC Twente away from home on Thursday (October 17).
