That’s all for tonight. I’ll leave you with Suzanne Wrack’s match report from Stamford Bridge – bye!
Chelsea reaction
Lauren James
It’s always nice to play at Stamford Bridge. It’s home and I feel the freedom here. The players behind me make sure I’m doing my job defensively, and if I’m doing that they say ‘do what you want’ in possession.
[Watching highlights of her performance] I don’t really think about it, I kinda just do what the opposition are giving me and… I just try my best. I just do whatever’s in the moment.
Erin Cuthbert
We were quite frustrated [with the pre-match delay] but we channelled it really well when the game started. It was really late in the day that we found out; we’d already done our team talk, it was weird! But we’re professionals, we have to manage it. The girls handled themselves impeccably.
We were fired up. I have a very good memory of the last game [the 4-1 defeat at Arsenal]. I know the midfield battle was won by them, and I take that quite personally.
We have a great way of picking ourselves up – ‘The Chelsea Way’, we call it. When everyone thinks we’re down and out, we always find a way. We enjoy the challenge of adversity and I’m really proud of the team today.
This is what that result does to the WSL table
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chelsea Women | 16 | 34 | 40 |
| 2 | Man City Women | 15 | 29 | 37 |
| 3 | Arsenal Women | 16 | 17 | 34 |
| 4 | Man Utd Women | 15 | 13 | 25 |
| 5 | Liverpool FC Women | 15 | 2 | 25 |
The injured Chelsea players – Millie Bright, Sam Kerr – are all on the field celebrating wildly. This really means a lot. It’s been an unqualified triumph for the team and especially their manager Emma Hayes.
Full time: Chelsea 3-1 Arsenal
That’s it. Chelsea have booted Arsenal out of the title race* with a terrific performance. They did the work in the first half, when the front pair of Lauren James and Sjoeke Nusken scored three times in 18 minutes. James, playing as a false nine, was utterly, thrillingly brilliant. Despite a slightly improved second-half performance from Arsenal, the rest of the game was a formality.
* Almost certainly
90+4 min Zinsberger makes another good save with her legs, this time to keep out Lawrence’s low drive.
90+3 min Maanum tries to make me look stupid with a driven lob from 25 yards. It goes over Hampton but also the crossbar.
90+2 min Arsenal are trying, but it’s not happening. We’re done here.
90 min Five minutes of added time.
89 min Oof. Russo’s snapshot from the edge of the area is scruffily struck and too close to Hampton. Had she connected properly with that…
87 min Little’s shot was definitely going wide. Hampton was booked in the aftermath after booting the ball away in frustration at the loss of a clean sheet.
GOAL! Chelsea 3-1 Arsenal (Macario og 86)
Surely not. McCabe’s corner from the right is cleared to the edge of the area, where Little rifles a first-time shot that takes a deflection off Macario and flashes past Hampton. I think the shot was going wide and it’s therefore an own goal, though it’s currently being credited to Little.
83 min: Chelsea substitution The magnificent Lauren James gets a standing ovation from the Chelsea fans – and her manager Emma Hayes, who is clapping proudly on the touchline. Catarina Macario replaces her.
James was just too good for Arsenal in the first half. Too smart, too skilful, too powerful, too much.
81 min Mead has a bit of space on the left but mishits a cross that is cut out by Carter at the near post. They just haven’t threatened in attack.
80 min Even if Arsenal win their last six league games, including Manchester City away, they would need Chelsea to drop at least six points. That looks highly unlikely.
77 min Nothing much is happening. Chelsea are keeping Arsenal at arm’s length with reasonable comfort.
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74 min James beats Little on the left edge of the area with some slick footwork before crashing a shot that hits Cooney-Cross and goes behind for a corner.
73 min Zinsberger is being treated but is fine to continue. A good thing, too; Arsenal have used their five subs.
72 min: Arsenal substitution Kyra Cooney-Cross comes on for Lia Walti.
71 min McCabe crosses too close to Hampton, who has dealt well with balls into the box all night. She hasn’t had many shots to save – just one, in fact, from Catley in the 10th minute.
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70 min: Chelsea substitution Ashley Lawrence replaces Charles, who was again quietly excellent at left-back.
70 min Another injury worry for Chelsea. Niamh Charles is down and needs to go off; she’s walking freely, so hopefully it’s a precaution. Chelsea play Ajax on Tuesday.
69 min Russo makes a smart run in behind Carter, who recovers well to block Russo’s shot at the expense of a corner.
68 min: Another vital save from Zinsberger! Arsenal are being taken apart on the break. Reiten gets away from Fox too easily on the left edge of the area and picks out the unmarked Rytting Kaneryd with a precise low cross. She sweeps a first-time shot from 12 yards that is too close to Zinsberger, who reacts smartly to push the ball up in the air and grab it at the second attempt.
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67 min Lacasse is booked for a cynical trip on Charles.
65 min As the commentators point out on Sky, Leah Williamson has had a really difficult night. She was at fault for the third goal and arguably the second; more generally, she has lacked her usual calm authority.
63 min I think Russo had a shot blocked just after that James opportunity, though it was a quarter-chance at beast.
61 min: Great chance for James! Chelsea open Arsenal up with two simple passes that cover 60 yards, the second from Charles to put James through on goal. She has so much time to move into the area and slide a left-foot shot that Zinsberger saves with her legs. It was a good save but James telegraphed the shot slightly.
61 min McCabe’s free-kick from the left is too close to Hampton. For all Arsenal’s possession since going 2-0 down, Chelsea look very comfortable.
59 min Mead has moved to the left now. She hasn’t been able to get in the game, though that applies to all the Arsenal attackers with the partial exception of Foord.
57 min: Arsenal substitution Cloe Lacasse replaces Caitlin Foord, who looks less than thrilled with the decision.
56 min In the grand scheme it doesn’t matter, but having been beaten 4-1 in the return fixture Chelsea would love to win the head-to-head on aggregate. They should get plenty of chances on the break in this half.
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54 min: Vital save by Zinsberger! Chelsea could have finished it there. Rytting Kaneryd ran onto a deft reverse pass from Cuthbert, 30 yards from goal, then surged between Wubben-Moy and Williamson into the area. She tried to lift the ball over the outrushing Zinsberger, who made a fine save.
53 min Foord is fouled by Perisset, then shoves her in frustration. Arsenal have started the second half with greater intent, and a goal now would make things interesting.
Not yet, alas: Mead’s free-kick is headed wide by the off balance Wubben-Moy.
50 min Cuthbert sends Fox flying with a legitimate woman-and-ball challenge just outside the Arsenal area, a symbol of Chelsea’s greater intensity.
48 min James shoulder charges Mead off the field and into the dugout. She stays down for a bit but seems okay.
47 min McCabe has an early effort, blootering over from 25 yards.
46 min Arsenal begin the second half having made a triple substitution: Emily Fox, Frida Maanum and Alessia Russo are on for Steph Catley, Victoria Pelova and Stina Blackstenius. That means Katie McCabe will move to left-back.
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Half-time reading
Half time: Chelsea 3-0 Arsenal
Arsenal are almost certainly out of the title race after a desperate first half at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea were outstanding, ignoring all their injuries to produce a performance of intelligence and defiance. Lauren James battered the first goal and was irresistible; her strike partner Sjoeke Nusken added the second and third by deflecting shots from Cuthbert and Rytting Kaneryd into the net. The latter was a fluke, but Arsenal didn’t play well enough to offer any hard-luck stories.
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45+2 min With Catley off the field, James receives a short corner from Perisset and curls over from 20 yards. The camera cuts to Jonas Eidevall, who drags his hand down his face to reveal an expression that is three parts haunted, two parts really, really, really hacked off.
45+2 min Catley is down and needs treatment. She had a clash of legs with Nusken, which looked innocuous but apparently wasn’t.
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45+2 min Maybe Chelsea put something in the socks.
45+1 min Three minutes of added time.
45 min “Blackstenius, Russo,” muses Charles Antaki. “Arsenal could be playing Nellie the Elephant top front for all the difference it would make. As much as Chelsea are irresistible, Arsenal aren’t really doing that much resisting. It’s getting close to humiliation, and it’s certainly curtains for any chance of winning the league.”
43 min Reiten’s free-kick brushes the roof of the net. Zinsberger didn’t move.
42 min An elegant, sinuous run from James ends when she is tripped on the edge of the area by McCabe, who is – shock, horror – booked. James has been magnificent.
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40 min This is surely the end of Arsenal’s title challenge. Any defeat would have been a serious blow, but a hammering like this – assuming that’s how it pans out – will surely be too much to overcome.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chelsea Women | 16 | 35 | 40 |
| 2 | Man City Women | 15 | 29 | 37 |
| 3 | Arsenal Women | 16 | 16 | 34 |
| 4 | Man Utd Women | 15 | 13 | 25 |
| 5 | Liverpool FC Women | 15 | 2 | 25 |
37 min Sjoeke Nusken, who surprisingly started up front for Chelsea, has scored two and made the other. We’ll miss Emma Hayes when she’s gone.
36 min Foord runs through on goal after a nice pass from Blacksteinius, but Perisset gets between her and the ball and Hampton comes out to claim. Good defending.
34 min James shoots over after another Chelsea break. Arsenal are a mess.
Rytting Kaneryd read a dodgy crossfield pass from Williamson just inside the Chelsea half, got to the ball ahead of Catley and ran into space. She kept going to the edge of the area, with the Arsenal defence exposed, then cut inside Wubben-Moy and swept a left-foot shot that took a huge deflection off her teammate Nusken and flew into the far corner.
Nusken was trying to get out of the way of the shot and turned her head almost apologetically when it went into the net. That part was lucky; Rytting Kaneryd’s was brilliant, even if her shot was probably going just wide.
Updated
GOAL! Chelsea 3-0 Arsenal (Nusken 32)
Sjoeke Nusken makes it 3-0 with a slightly absurd goal!
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30 min Arsenal are having their best spell of possession, which I guess is a natural response to the second goal from both side. Mead tries to surge past Charles, who does well to force her wide and win a goalkick. Can you win a goalkick? You know what I mean.
27 min Arsenal have been bright enough going forward, if a little imprecise. But they are really struggling to deal with James, who is giving a tutorial in how to play as a false nine.
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24 min Cuthbert fouls Pelova 25 yards from goal. Mead steps up for the free-kick… and smashes it high over the bar.
23 min So far this has been a triumph for Emma Hayes, especially the deployment of James and Nusken. Chelsea have been terrific, playing with an intensity they lacked when they were hammered by Arsenal earlier in the season.
James, who is playing sensationally as a false nine, started the move by dropping deep, turning Walti (I think) with ease and surging into space. She waved a nonchalant pass out to Reiten, whose cross from the left was chested down by Rytting Kaneryd at the far post. She laid the ball off to Cuthbert, whose mishit shot from 25 yards was deftly turned into the net by Nusken.
I thought she might have been offside but Williamson was playing her on. It’s a good goal and Chelsea are 2-0 up.
Updated
GOAL! Chelsea 2-0 Arsenal (Nusken 20)
It looked like it might be offside, but Sjoeke Nusken has doubled Chelsea’s lead!
Updated
17 min Arsenal almost have an immediate chance to equalise. Mead moves into the area from the right with loads of time, almost too much, and eventually her low cross is crucially cut out at the near post by Carter.
16 min The consensus in the commentary box is that Zinsberger should have done better. I wouldn’t disagree, though she was pretty unfortunate with the spin of the ball. And James really did welt it.
Reiten won the ball just inside the Arsenal half, which allowed Nusken to sweep an excellent pass across the field to James. She moved into the area, slowed down and then veered outside Catley before battering a shot back across goal. The diving Zinsberger got a good hand on the ball, which looped up in the air before spinning into the net despite a desperate attempt to clear it off the line.
Updated
GOAL! Chelsea 1-0 Arsenal (James 15)
Lauren James hammers Chelsea into the lead!
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14 min There’s a cracking pace to this game, with both teams pressing as high as up the field as possible. Talking of which…
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11 min This game is warming up nicely. James wanders out to the right, turns onto her left foot and lifts a marvellous pass over the head of Walti on the edge of the area. Kaneryd runs onto it but is just beaten to the ball by Zinsberger. I think James’ imagination might have surprised Kaneryd, who looked a little slow to react.
10 min The resulting corner is half cleared but Arsenal regain possession. Williamson slides a fine pass to release Catley on the right side of the area, but she shoots straight at Hampton from a very tight angle. That was the wrong option.
9 min And now the first opportunity for Arsenal. Wubben-Moy hammers a brilliant crossfield pass to Mead on the right edge of the area. She touches the ball back to Little, whose first-time shot is pushed round the near post by Hampton. It was going wide anyway but she took no chances.
Updated
6 min The first bit of pressure from Chelsea, with Perisset, Cuthbert and Reiten all having crosses cleared in the space of 20 seconds. That all stemmed from a really deft lay-off by James on the halfway line.
Updated
4 min Nusken is playing much higher than expected, almost as a second striker, which is an interesting tactical move from Emma Hayes.
3 min Kim Little checks her teeth after being caught by the flailing arm of Buchanan. She’s fine.
2 min James shoots over from 25 yards, this time with her left foot. If I were Arsenal I wouldn’t keep letting her shoot from there, or indeed anywhere.
1 min Lauren James, playing as a false nine, has the first shot from distance even before the clock has appeared on the TV screen. It’s blocked by Wubben-Moy.
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1 min After the players take a knee, Chelsea kick off from left to right as we watch.
A reminder of the teams
Chelsea (possible 4-3-3) Hampton; Perisset, Buchanan, Carter, Charles; Cuthbert, Leupolz, Nusken; Kaneryd, James, Reiten.
Substitutes: Musovic, Ingle, Macario, Lawrence, Kirby, Hamano, Cankovic, Beever-Jones.
Arsenal (possible 4-3-3) Zinsberger; McCabe, Williamson, Wubben-Moy, Catley; Pelova, Little, Walti; Mead, Blackstenius, Foord.
Substitutes: Fox, Maanum, D’Angelo, Russo, Codina, Cooney-Cross, Holly Reid, Bouhaddi.
Referee Rebecca Welch.
The players are in the tunnel, for real. Never mind that weird delay, it’s time for a huge game in the WSL title race. Let’s sock!
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chelsea Women | 15 | 32 | 37 |
| 2 | Man City Women | 15 | 29 | 37 |
| 3 | Arsenal Women | 15 | 19 | 34 |
| 4 | Man Utd Women | 15 | 13 | 25 |
| 5 | Liverpool FC Women | 15 | 2 | 25 |
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Arsenal are wearing black Chelsea socks, bought from the Megastore, with tape over the Chelsea and Nike logos. Arsenal are sponsored by Adidas. The players are now having a second warm-up. What an odd build-up to such a big game.
The socks are on offer at the Chelsea Megastore, reduced to £12.99 a pair, so Arsenal have at least saved a few quid. Sort of.
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Kick off at 7.30pm
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The DJ is keeping the crowd entertainined by going through the Friday night classics: Failure by Swans, The Beast in Me by Nick Lowe, Gravity by Coldplay. The place is rocking.
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No update on when the match will kick off. Apparently Arsenal have to change their white socks, which are the same colour as Chelsea’s. The men wore red socks when they played here in October.
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Kick off delayed
The match won’t begin at 7pm as scheduled, apparently because of a kit clash. Eh? Don’t they wear blue and red?
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“Blackstenius rather than Russo – not a choice many Arsenal fans would nod sagely at,” writes Charles Antaki. “It’s true that Blackstenius scored three against Villa the other day, but Chelsea are a nut of a much tougher variety. She’s admirably tireless and committed, but tends to run straight lines; Russo is the more subtle and elusive player. We all know what Chelsea are like, so unless Russo is out of sorts for one reason another, this does look like an odd choice.”
As does Jonas Eidevall
The loudest supporters tonight will be them [points to the away end].
[On Blackstenius and Russo battling for a place up front] Competition in a squad is really good so long as you don’t lose self-confidence as a player. The moment you lose self-confidence, it doesn’t matter what ability you have – especially as a striker. If you lose the bravery and start overthinking, you lose your edge.
We try to communicate about their strengths and what we want to see; make sure they don’t need to have second thoughts. That’s the art of coaching. I’m not saying I’m doing it perfectly but it’s a really, really important aspect of the game. If you want to win thing you will need to get that right.
[On Emma Hayes] She is so flexible tactically. As soon as something is not working for Chelsea, she will change personnel, formation or the way of playing. We expect them to change as the game goes on – she will be very proactive. Me and Emma are slightly different as coaches. I will stick with plan A for longer because I believe so much in it and the reason we have that plan.
Emma Hayes talks to Sky Sports
I believe every single one of our players is ready. I hope we use the crowd – we have to create the noise and give them something to be excited about. If we carry out the things that really, really matter, and are important to me, it’ll be a cracker of a game.
[Lauren James] is good, she’s ready to go. She’s had her hair done. She’s got it ready for the crowd!
Read the great Karen Carney on the title race
Arsenal have arguably the best squad in the league and the opportunity to chase down the other two. Their home victory over Chelsea was the performance of the season and they need to replicate that. The Gunners have great variety in attack, making them able to adapt to circumstances. Whether they need runners in behind or more crosses into the box, they have a squad of problem-solvers.
Team news
Emma Hayes has changed more than half the Chelsea team that won the FA Cup quarter-final at Everton. Lauren James, Niamh Charles and Guro Reiten are among those who return to the side.
Stina Blackstenius, who scored a hat-trick in Arsenal’s 4-0 win over Aston Villa in last week’s Conti Cup semi-final, is preferred to Alessia Russo up front. Kim Little, Caitlin Foord and Victoria Pelova all return.
Chelsea (possible 4-3-3) Hampton; Perisset, Carter, Buchanan, Charles; Nusken, Cuthbert, Leupolz; Rytting Kaneryd, James, Reiten.
Substitutes: Musovic, Ingle, Macario, Lawrence, Kirby, Hamano, Cankovic, Beever-Jones.
Arsenal (possible 4-3-3) Zinsberger; McCabe, Williamson, Wubben-Moy, Catley; Pelova, Little, Walti; Mead, Blackstenius, Foord.
Substitutes: Fox, Maanum, D’Angelo, Russo, Codina, Cooney-Cross, Holly Reid, Bouhaddi.
Referee Rebecca Welch.
Your London derby line-up. 🤩#CFCW pic.twitter.com/iXwqaws5aO
— Chelsea FC Women (@ChelseaFCW) March 15, 2024
🔴 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠𝙉𝙀𝙒𝙎 ⚪️
— Arsenal Women (@ArsenalWFC) March 15, 2024
🏴 Little wears the armband
🇳🇱 Pelova in midfield
🇸🇪 Blackstenius leads the line
COME ON YOU GUNNERS ❤️ pic.twitter.com/EHAfMwCHkQ
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Preamble
Hello and welcome to live, minute-by-minute coverage of Chelsea v Arsenal at Stamford Bridge. Some games are bigger than others, and this is a supersized triple whopper of a contest: 1st v 3rd in the WSL, huge London club v huge London club, a match that both teams can barely afford to draw never mind lose.
Arsenal trounced Chelsea 4-1 in the return fixture in December. They also beat Manchester City at home, but three defeats to teams outside the big four have cost them. Chelsea have the opposite problem: the eight points they have dropped this season have all been against Arsenal or City. They will be exceedingly keen to put that right tonight.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chelsea Women | 15 | 32 | 37 |
| 2 | Man City Women | 15 | 29 | 37 |
| 3 | Arsenal Women | 15 | 19 | 34 |
| 4 | Man Utd Women | 15 | 13 | 25 |
| 5 | Liverpool FC Women | 15 | 2 | 25 |
Kick off 7pm
