Here’s Suzanne Wrack’s quickfire report from Kingsmeadow, where “handball” has unfortunately taken centre-stage once more. Thanks for your time, and goodbye!
Emma Hayes speaks!
I thought we were ruthless, maybe could have had more chances, dominant throughout, aggressive and comfortable winners.
I’m so happy for Sam Kerr today, I’m so happy the ball’s gone in. The service Fran gave her was tremendous. She works her socks off. There’s a huge expectation and you could see the way the team reacted – they were over the moon for her. I thought Erin Cuthbert’s performance on the left against Lucy Bronze was outstanding, and then Fran Kirby … what a player England have.
It’s not easy to pick a team every week. I have some unhappy faces.
Fran Kirby speaks!
Speaking to BT Sport, the player of the match said:
Really pleased. We were really disappointed to concede the goal but we wanted to keep our heads and I was pleased to get the goal. I changed position, coming into the middle because I wanted to stretch the pitch.
I made the decision to round the keeper – I panicked a bit when I saw how wide I had to go! … Hopefully I can keep putting the performances in.
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Reaction is on the way. Here’s the table and a quick rundown of the weekend’s WSL results:
Saturday
Tottenham 0-1 Manchester City
Today
Brighton 0-5 Arsenal
Chelsea 3-1 Man City
Everton 3-1 West Ham
Reading 0-1 Birmingham
Bristol City P-P Aston Villa
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal Women | 4 | 20 | 12 |
| 2 | Everton Women | 4 | 13 | 12 |
| 3 | Chelsea Women | 4 | 11 | 10 |
| 4 | Man Utd Women | 4 | 7 | 10 |
| 5 | Man City Women | 4 | 4 | 7 |
| 6 | Reading Women | 4 | -3 | 6 |
| 7 | Brighton & Hove Albion Women | 4 | -6 | 4 |
| 8 | Birmingham City Women | 4 | -5 | 3 |
| 9 | Tottenham Hotspur Women | 4 | -5 | 1 |
| 10 | West Ham Women | 4 | -11 | 1 |
| 11 | Aston Villa Women | 3 | -10 | 0 |
| 12 | Bristol City Women | 3 | -15 | 0 |
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Chelsea end the weekend third in the WSL table on 10 points, trailing Arsenal and Everton (12 points each) by two points, and just ahead of Manchester United on goal difference. City are fifth, with seven points.
Full-time: Chelsea 3-1 Manchester City
A tasty encounter, ignited by a contentious penalty, but ultimately the better side won.
90 mins + 4: The closing moments are almost all in City’s half. Last season’s champions have seen this out really comfortably.
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90 mins + 2: Fran Kirby is named player of the match on BT Sport, and deservedly so after a particularly brilliant second-half showing. To say City shoulders are slumped would be an understatement at this stage.
90 mins: We’ll have a minimum of four more minutes, but the ball is at the wrong end for City.
88 mins: The game is all but won for Chelsea but City are still trying to push forward. Another voyage into the opposing box, after good work from Stokes and Stanway, comes to nothing and the worry is that they could be caught on the break again.
86 mins: Lavelle has been bright since coming on but she is unable to do much with a ball that finds her in a crowd by the penalty spot. Berger plucks it harmlessly from the air.
Mjelde is booked after a stern-looking challenge in front of both managers.
84 mins: A really bright spell for City has dimmed alarmingly since that goal, which came against the run of play.
Wales’s Sophie Ingle comes on for Ji So-Yun in another Chelsea change. Ji is one of those players MBMs pass by slightly but she has kept things ticking over marvellously in the centre of the pitch.
81 mins: Kirby is sent scampering down the left, leaving City – who had pushed on a little in pursuit of a leveller – in big trouble. Roebuck came flying out of her area, despite Kirby having good, close control of the ball, and she was left sprawled as her England compatriot rounded her easily to finish straightforwardly.
The sun is admittedly in Roebuck’s eyes at this stage, but last season’s golden glove winner miscalculated that quite badly.
For City, Jill Scott is on for Caroline Weir.
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GOAL! Chelsea 3-1 Manchester City (Kirby 79)
79 mins: It’s great, composed stuff from Kirby, but I’m afraid Ellie Roebuck’s gone for a bit of a walk there.
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76 mins: Technically the City penalty arrived as a decent reflection of how the weight of possession was flowing, but it still came as a shock. Lavelle is giving the Chelsea backline much more to think about, chasing them down relentlessly.
74 mins: Niamh Charles, formerly of Liverpool, is on for Sam Kerr in another change for Chelsea.
GOAL! Chelsea 2-1 Manchester City (Kelly 73pen)
73 mins: A strange goosestep starts her runup, but Chloe Kelly fair smashes the spot-kick into the roof of the net, just right of centre. Interesting …
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Penalty to City!
Millie Bright handles. Helloooooo …
71 mins: Inside the last 20 minutes, and Mewis strides through brilliantly in midfield but overhits her attempted through ball. City shoulders slump … until …
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69 mins: Another substitution … Chelsea’s Beth England is on for Pernille Harder, moments after Lavelle is unable to conjure a cross from the byline at the end of an increasingly rare City attack.
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66 mins: Beth England is receiving instructions on the Chelsea bench and her arrival appears imminent. The momentum is still very much with the home side, and opportunities for City are more glimmers than gapes at the moment.
Elsewhere, it’s Reading 0-1 Birmingham at full-time, Claudia Walker’s goal midway through the second-half proving the difference.
63 mins: A City free-kick from the right is punched clear by Berger. Houghton gives Lavelle a sight of the box, which is cleared, and an effort from the second ball from Houghton is deflected for a corner off Bright. Caroline Weir, however, wastes the ensuing opportunity.
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60 mins: And so it proves – two changes for City. White is off, Rose Lavelle is on.
Park, who has worked hard without managing to make her mark, is replaced by Georgia Stanway.
58 mins: It’s not happening for White. An attempted overhead kick is mistimed and skied clumsily as City try to get themselves back in the game. Substitutions look inevitable for the visitors at this stage.
GOAL! Chelsea 2-0 Manchester City (Kerr 56)
56 mins: The Kirby/Kerr axis again. Lovely weight on the ball from the right from Kirby, and the Australian makes no mistake this time.
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56 mins: Suddenly less end to end and more one-way traffic. Bronze dallies while contemplating a backpass and Cuthbert nearly capitalises. Just before …
54 mins: Chance again for Kerr! Kirby ignores Harder, who has taken up a good position in space to the right of the area, drawing attention towards her. She instead finds the Australian just shy of the penalty spot, who miscues and finds nearer to corner flag than post.
52 mins: End to end now. Cuthbert puts Fran Kirby in on the right, and her lovely curling cross looks inviting for Kerr in the middle. The Australian connects well but the ball sails over. In the ensuing passage, Kerr elects against shooting to offer Ji the chance of a shot, but she delays too long and is swallowed up by City’s defence.
51 mins: White nearly catches Berger out! The German keeper delays her clearance and is nearly blocked by a well-timed slide in.
49 mins: White is caught by Eriksson as the pair vie for a high ball. No reaction from the England player, however, and play continues. In the ensuing exchange, Ji’s attempted ball is cut out by Bronze, who can only deflect it into Cuthbert’s path on the left-hand corner of the City box. A solid connection is well wide, however.
47 mins: City enjoy a spell of possession as they seek to get back on terms amid lengthening shadows. Jess Park’s cross from the right is a little too high and hard at the end of a promising move, eluding everyone, and Chelsea have a breather.
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Second half
We go. Again.
No changes to report at half-time.
A quick reminder by the way that WSL is, as yet, sans VAR – today’s referee Rebecca Welch has her own eyes and those of her assistants, and nothing else, to back her up. It is, undeniably, a squiffy penalty decision.
However, putting yourself in Welch’s place, White’s movements at the point the ball hits Stokes are somewhat consistent with the ball hitting her (she was clearly bracing for impact from a well-struck long-ranger, and her arms jerk presumably at the sound of the ball hitting her teammate). That appears to have informed the ref’s decision – White’s almost hoodwinked her into penalising the City player.
Sympathy for the ref on two counts, then, but obviously more for City and for White.
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With Bristol City v Aston Villa postponed because: coronavirus, there’s only one more game taking place this afternoon – Reading v Birmingham is currently goalless with 25 mins remaining.
Half-time: Chelsea 1-0 Manchester City
The match has had that look of a 1-0 Chelsea lead, given the weight of pressure, but the way it came about is incredibly harsh on City, who have had their moments. Gareth Taylor may need to calm Ellen White down a bit, as she is rightly furious but now needs to keep herself well clear of the book. Bloody handball.
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45 + 2 mins: Mewis catches Eriksson grubbily, holds her hands up, and is another addition to the Yellow Card Club.
45 mins: Three minutes to be added on. Bronze has increasingly come into the game, turning up on the left to make her way into the area again. She’s unfortunate to be penalised, and pressure on Chelsea is relieved again. At the other end, Ji So-Yun – who has struggled at times to find her passing range – curls in a lovely cross, which Kerr climbs well to meet, but her header loops harmlessly into Roebuck’s gloves in the middle of the goal.
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42 mins: Replays of the penalty suggest City might have been extremely unfortunate with the penalty. Angles aren’t great but there’s not a lot of arm going on from Demi Stokes, and my best reading is that it hits her squarely in the midriff. The referee’s view through a crowd might have been that flailing arms (actually belonging to Ellen White behind her) were caught. Not so, I reckon.
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41 mins: Scramble! Chelsea keep the pressure on and from a corner there are two or three meaningful swipes goalwards before City manage to clear. But suddenly the visitors are on the attack on the right with Lucy Bronze, who is furious with herself after a great run ends with a mishit shot which goes through Magdalena Eriksson’s legs before arcing tamely wide.
GOAL! Chelsea 1-0 Manchester City (Mjelde 36pen)
36 mins: No problem from the Norwegian international Maren Mjelde, who smacks it in confidently. White was claiming (correctly) mistaken identity, after going into the book for handball, when in fact the ball struck Demi Stokes. Both players were turning away from the shot as it came in. Game on!
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Penalty to Chelsea!
35 mins: Moments after Kerr appeals unsuccessfully for one of those handballs, another goes Chelsea’s way, to the fury of Ellen White …
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33 mins: Tut tut Millie Bright, the first in the book after a late challenge from behind. No complaint from Chelsea’s England defender, who instead grins as she trots back into position.
29 mins: Houghton has looked happier, but will continue.
Chelsea hoof the ball upfield to Roebuck as play resumes, but Chelsea’s press never fails to catch the eye. White chases a long ball the other way, however, to get City on the attack once more and Lucy Bronze ultimately puts Cuthbert on her backside in her first real foray into the area. It’s testament to the Scot’s energy however that she is up again in a flash to thwart the attack.
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27 mins: Houghton goes down, seemingly catching her studs in the turf and getting accidentally caught by Harder as the pair chased a loose ball pawed away by Berger. That will smart. The physios are on the case.
Sam Mewis hits the post!
24 mins: Gutsy charge from the USA midfielder, who is just about knocked off balance by Cuthbert during City’s most concerted spell of pressure since the early stages, getting a skidding shot off from the D that Berger was barely aware of, spinning safely away from the outside edge of the post.
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Meanwhile, in vroom vroom things, a significant thing has occurred …
20 mins: Cuthbert leaves Steph Houghton backpedalling before finding Harder in space again. Once again she fails to find her range, but the momentum is undeniably with Chelsea.
17 mins: Cuthbert is seeing as much of the ball as anyone, and her energy is causing as many problems in pressing the visiting defence as she is in marauding forward. An impressive opening to the game from the Scot.
15 mins: Better from Harder! Her snap shot is deflected out from a corner off Gemma Bonner, who could easily have put that into her own net. From the set-piece, Sam Kerr finds space at an angle 12 yards out but skies her effort.
12 mins: Pernille Harder is put in superbly after a great run from Erin Cuthbert, and should do better. The Dane delays her shot and is muscled out by the recovering City defence. At the other end, Park runs gamely into the box in her first meaningful attacking action but the pass is just too strong for her.
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10 mins: Lucy Bronze fells Chelsea’s Erin Cuthbert amid a scrappy spell with both teams trying to build from the back. City are pressing well to try and break the hosts’ rhythm and Ann-Katrin Berger, in goal for Chelsea, wants more time with the ball on the ground than she’s allowed to get.
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7 mins: Melanie Leupolz tries to respond after some concerted pressure at the other end. Her scuffed first-time shot is watched well past the post to Ellie Roebuck’s right.
5 mins: First meaningful chance, as Chloe Kelly tries to slide White in, but gets the ball back. Her hurried effort from 25 yards, leaning back, may well have been worth 2 points in a rugby league match.
2 mins: Early pressure, albeit without any kind of meaningful final ball, in a frenetic opening from Chelsea, but a foul on Ellen White gives City the chance to regroup.
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Kick-off
It is so on …
Just before kick-off, a quick word on 18-year-old striker Jess Park, who starred in midweek for City and gets the nod from manager Gareth Taylor. She signed her first pro contract earlier this year and it’s quite the occasion to be airlifted into with significant names on the bench.
The players are taking the knee, before City kick off.
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Miedema added a second for Arsenal with the final whistle more or less in the ref’s mouth – so that’s an eyecatching 5-0 win for the Gunners, and a share of the WSL scoring record to the Dutch forward!
Over to you, Ellen White …
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Arsenal full-back Lotte Wubben-Moy has made it 4-0 away at Brighton with only eight minutes remaining, her first goal for the club, so consider Joe Montemurro’s side stapled to the top of the WSL table this afternoon.
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Beth England scored her 50th goal for the club to seal a 4-1 win over Arsenal on Wednesday. She’s also dropped to the bench today, another indication of the depth on display between the two sides.
Goal number 𝟱𝟬 in a London derby win! 🤩
— Chelsea FC Women (@ChelseaFCW) October 8, 2020
Doesn't get much better than that eh, @Bethany_Eng15! 👌 pic.twitter.com/s7GECiPkLG
The visitors arrive at Kingsmeadow on the heels of a comeback Continental Cup win over Everton in midweek. USA midfielder Rose Lavelle marked her full debut with a goal, but she starts on the bench today.
⚽️ @roselavelle's first City goal
— Manchester City (@ManCity) October 8, 2020
🤲 @klbardsley back in action
3️⃣ points in our #ContiCup group
Watch the best bits from our win over the Toffees...
🔷 #ManCity | https://t.co/axa0klD5re pic.twitter.com/Drfy5JOdEK
In a timely pre-match touch from the hosts, they’ll be wearing the colours of Plan International to mark International Day of the Girl 2020 in a “stand with girls to speak out against gender inequality” …
Coronavirus is putting girls at risk. From missed education and the increased threat of child marriage, to street harassment and online abuse – girls’ rights are at risk.
This International Day of the Girl, we’re celebrating the voices of powerful girls around the world, and standing with them as they take on the issues that matter to them.
Today we stand with girls to speak out against gender inequality – and now more than ever we need you to stand with us. Together we can change girls’ futures for the better.
At the time of writing, it’s safe-ish to suggest that Arsenal are going top of the league this afternoon. Early in the second half they are 3-0 up at Brighton thanks to goals from Vivianne Miedema (equalling Ellen White’s tally in the all-time WSL goalscoring lists), Daniëlle van de Donk and Katie McCabe.
Their goal difference was already superior to that of Everton, who started the day with the same number of points but are approaching half-time level at 1-1 with West Ham.
Van de Donk’s effort was assisted by midfielder Jill Roord, who spoke to Suzy recently …
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In yesterday’s WSL action, Manchester United fended off a still Alex Morgan-less Tottenham side with a 1-0 away win. Millie Turner’s second-half header proved the difference. Here’s Suzanne Wrack’s report from the Hive …
Teams
Chelsea Berger, Bright, Leupolz, Ji, Kirby, Eriksson (capt), Mjelde, Kerr, Cuthbert, Harder, Andersson
Subs: Telford, Thorisdottir, Ingle, England, Reiten, J Fleming, Charles, C Fleming
Manchester City Roebuck, Stokes, Bonner, Houghton (capt), Kelly, Park, White, Weir, Bronze, Mewis, Walsh
Subs: Bardsley, Taieb, Coombs, Scott, Stanway, Beckie, Morgan, Lavelle, Greenwood
Preamble
Good day and welcome. Last season’s champions host the side they leapfrogged on a points-per-game basis after the season officially went bye-bye in May.
Plenty of added spice and points to prove, then – and for City forward Ellen White a record to chase, as she has edged up one goal behind Nikita Parris’s WSL tally of 49 in the “all-time” (ie: since 2011) list.
Both sides have won two and drawn one in the first three games this season – Chelsea were held by early pace-setters Manchester United in their opening game, while City found themselves frustrated last month in a goalless draw at home to Brighton. Dropped points either way would be a significant blow.
Today’s hosts ran out 2-0 winners in August’s Community shield, but last time these teams met in the league: a 3-3 rasper. Chelsea manager Emma Hayes credits the point earned in that February game as the effective “title decider” in favour of her side when the campaign was curtailed.
Since then, a change in the City dugout and some eye-catching signings on both sides. The visitors have an excellent record at Chelsea’s ground, with just one loss in their last 12 WSL visits. That loss however? Oof – the most recent one, last December.
Kick-off at Kingsmeadow is at 2.30pm BST. Bracing for another good ’un, ’ere.
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