Key Highlights
- The Blues now sit six points behind rampant league leaders Manchester City, who travel to London City Lionesses on Sunday with the chance to extend that lead to nine. Chelsea v Arsenal: Women’s Super League – liveRead moreThere were some forced changes to Arsenal’s starting XI, with Olivia Smith’s suspension and Frida Maanum’s illness adding to injuries to several key players, including the England duo Leah Williamson and Chloe Kelly. Perhaps the best way to describe the first half, from the point of view of the visiting team, is that it was like suffering wave after wave of deja vu.
- Despite their depleted number, Renée Slegers’s side were dominant in possession, at times weaving together some lovely patterns of play.
- However, the end product was notably absent once again, the Gunners searching for the eye-of-a-needle pass through Chelsea’s stoic and well-balanced back three of Lucy Bronze, Naomi Girma and Millie Bright. As a result, by the break the visiting team had had almost 60% possession but just two shots on target to show for it.
- Slegers had focused on the issue prior to the game – Arsenal just needed to get “the final thing” right, she had said.
- That is a pretty significant final thing though and, as the game stretched on with Arsenal failing to capitalise on their dominance, it felt increasingly like it would be another game where they would be punished on the counter, as they had been against Manchester United in their 1-0 League Cup semi-final defeat on Wednesday night. Their best threat came from Mead on the right, the forward’s link-up with full-back Emily Fox providing their most dangerous outlet and Mead’s crosses into the box equally threatening.
