Suzanne Wrack's match report
That’s it from me, but Suzanne Wrack’s match report will be along shortly. Thanks for your company, ta-ra.
And now Jonas Eidevall speaks
I said before the game that little details can be decisive in a game between two good teams. When I look at the game overall, I think we deserved to win. We created the better chances and were the better team, but when you are playing against quality players you have to work every second, every moment. All in all, I’m proud of the way we played, and we can build on that.
[What would you like to say to the fans who came today, some for the first time?] Come back! You were brilliant, we love you all. It’s great the atmosphere you provide, so please come back.
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Emma Hayes’ verdict
It’s a brilliant result. I thought our attacking play was the poorest it’s been, but the finishers [substitutes] that came into the game all added value. We started slowly in the second half and allowed Arsenal to get on top; then the penalty game. I changed shape to 3-5-2 and put bodies around Kim Little, and we came into the game more. Eve Perisset added a lot, and Jelena Cankovic – what a player she’s going to become.
[On the Arsenal penalty] It’s a 50/50 shoulder barge. If you watch it again, Caitlin Foord initiates it – she leans into our player, buys the foul, ref gave it; outside the box whether they say the momentum took her into the box. I don’t wanna focus on the penalty.
We showed character after what is, for us, an average performance in possession of the football. We didn’t create enough but our ability to adapt played to our advantage in the end. And for that reason, it’s amazing result.
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Sam Kerr’s verdict
It’s a big goal in the title race. Jelena came on and put in a great ball. I knew there’d be one moment, and I just had to keep my cool when it came. I wanted to be in the game but I wouldn’t say frustrated. It’s tough to come here and they are really good defensively. I guess that’s what I pride myself on: staying in the game for those moments right at the end.
We need to be better for 90 minutes. There were pockets of the game where we played really well. But it’s not easy to come here and we have huge respect for Arsenal. Although we’re a bit disappointed with the performance, we’re really happy with the point.
"It's a BIG goal!"
— Sky Sports WSL (@SkySportsWSL) January 15, 2023
Chelsea forward Sam Kerr reacts to her sides 1-1 draw against Arsenal at the Emirates...🎙️👇 pic.twitter.com/RM7zphT5d9
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How to finish, with Samantha Kerr
SAM KERR WITH A HUGE GOAL!! 💥
— Sky Sports WSL (@SkySportsWSL) January 15, 2023
The delivery 🤝 The header pic.twitter.com/uhglYClOdw
Full time: Arsenal 1-1 Chelsea
Peep peep! It’s as you were at the top of the WSL after a scrappy, hard-fought draw at the Emirates Stadium. Arsenal were the better team for most of the game, and led through Kim Little’s penalty until Sam Kerr scored a superb equaliser in the 89th minute.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chelsea Women | 11 | 23 | 28 |
| 2 | Arsenal Women | 10 | 20 | 25 |
| 3 | Man Utd Women | 9 | 18 | 22 |
| 4 | Man City Women | 9 | 11 | 19 |
| 5 | Everton Women | 10 | 2 | 15 |
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90+2 min Williamson is robbed by James 30 yards from goal, and suddenly Arsenal are in all sorts – but Kerr lets them off the hook with a really poor pass.
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90+2 min Given the timing of the goal, and the poverty of their attacking performance until that point, this will feel like a win for Chelsea.
90+1 min Three minutes of added time.
That’s a shattering blow to Arsenal, who have been the better team for most of the game, but it’s a brillaint equaliser. Perisset played the ball back to Cankovic, 30 yards out in the inside-right channel. She curled a glorious inswinging cross into the area, where Kerr ran behind Williamson and leapt to thump a header over Zinsberger.
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GOAL! Arsenal 1-1 Chelsea (Kerr 89)
Sam Kerr equalises with a majestic header!
88 min: Chance for Perisset! A long free-kick is headed up in the air by Bright towards Perisset, shins a volley into the side netting from six yards. It wasn’t an easy chance, with the angle tight and the ball dropping over her shoulder, but it was still a chance.
88 min Chelsea have had 74 per cent of hte possession in the last 10 minutes. Meanwhile, McCabe is booked for taking out Kaneryd.
86 min: Chelsea substitution Magda Eriksson is replaced by Johanna Kaneryd, who hands a tactical note to Millie Bright.
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85 min Another Cuthbert shot from the edge of the area is blocked, and that time she did get hold of it.
84 min Reiten plays a training-ground corner to the unmarked Cuthbert on the edge of the area. She doesn’t connect properly and her shot is blocked.
83 min Kerr slides a good pass to Perisset, who gets away from Foord in the area before being strongly tackled by Catley. That’s a crucial interception.
81 min The official attendance is 46,811, which is just short of the WSL record.
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81 min: Chelsea substitution Jelena Cankovic replaces Sophie Ingle.
81 min: Substitution for Arsenal Katie McCabe replaces Lina Hurtig.
80 min Perisset has caused Arsenal a lot of problems since replacing Charles at right-back. She’s found in space again but this time crosses too close to Zinsberger.
78 min Perisset’s cross just evades Kerr at the near post. These are nervy times for Arsenal.
77 min James moves into the area and hammers a shot that is very well blocked by the stretching Catley. She’s had a fine game.
77 min Chelsea’s first shot on target. Reiten’s free-kick is headed back across goal by Kerr, and Eriksson fights off a couple of defenders to head straight at Zinsberger. There was no pace on the ball so it was a pretty difficult chance.
76 min What do you think. Penalty? No penalty? The key is where the last bit of contact occured, not the first.
ADVANTAGE ARSENAL!! 🔴
— Sky Sports WSL (@SkySportsWSL) January 15, 2023
Kim Little gives her side the LEAD from the penalty spot! ⚡ pic.twitter.com/C9u4eyC8nS
73 min Catley’s lofted cross is flapped against her own crossbar by Musovic, a slightly strange bit of goalkeeping. Maybe I’m doing her a disservice, I don’t know.
72 min Here’s the league table as tings stand.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chelsea Women | 11 | 22 | 27 |
| 2 | Arsenal Women | 10 | 21 | 27 |
| 3 | Man Utd Women | 9 | 18 | 22 |
| 4 | Man City Women | 9 | 11 | 19 |
| 5 | Everton Women | 10 | 1 | 15 |
70 min Moments later, Ingle sprays wide from the edge of the area. Chelsea are coming into this.
69 min: Chance for Kirby! Perisset’s cross is only half cleared by Arsenal. Ingle nods the ball down to Kirby, who shoots wide of the near post on the stretch. It wasn’t an easy chance.
69 min Blackstenius’s awkward pass is chested into the area by Foord, who goes over after a bit of a grapple with Buchanan. I’d like to see that again, though I don’t think anybody appealed for a penalty.
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68 min “Proof again that Kim Little is the most complete Scottish midfielder playing at the moment in UK football,” says Tony Reekie. “A joy to watch and such a huge shame she doesn’t play for the national team any more.”
Indeed. Imagine how miserable it wouldt be playing in midfield against Little and Erin Cuthbert.
67 min Lauren James, who has been quieter in the second half, shoots well wide from distance.
66 min A rare Chelsea attack. Perisset’s cross is cleared only as fars as Cuthbert, lurking in the D. Her shot deflects behind for a corner, which is headed away at the near post by Hurtig.
63 min Foord cuts insied from the left and curls a right-footed shot from distance that is saved a little dramatically by Musovic, diving to her left. Blackstenius was following up, though, so she made a point of pushing the ball away from goal.
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62 min: Double substitution for Chelsea Fran Kirby and Eve Perisset replace Jessie Fleming and Niamh Charles.
60 min Now Maanum drives wide from the edge of the area. Arsenal need to put Chelsea away because they are well on top at the moment.
59 min: Chance for Foord! Chelsea are all over the show. Maanum’s cross from the right hits Foord, under pressure from Charles in the six-yard box, before bouncing towards goal. Musovic claws the ball away and Chelsea survive.
58 min Actually, the more replays you see of that foul by Charles on Foord, the more it looks like the final contact was just outside the box. Foord then fell into the penalty area. It was really tight, though, and even if VAR was in use I’m not sure the decision would have been overturned.
58 min On balance, Arsenal deserve that. The first half wasn’t great but they were the better team, as they have been at the start of the second half.
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GOAL! Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea (Little 57 pen)
The captain Kim Little scores coolly from the penalty spot, and Arsenal are in front!
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Foord got the wrong side of Charles, and there was a tangle of legs. Replays show it was just inside the area, so that’s a fair enough decision.
PENALTY TO ARSENAL! Charles has been penalised for a clumsy challenge on Foord. It was right on the edge of the area, and might have been outside. Chelsea think so.
55 min Foord’s shot from the edge of the area deflects through to Musovic.
54 min: Great chance for Arsenal! Catley curls in a superb first-time cross from the left towards Hurtig, who comes on the blindside of Eriksson but heads straight at Musovic from six yards. What a chance! The header hit Musovic as she fell backwards, and she was able to grab the ball at the second attempt.
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51 min I’m afraid the second half has started as the first finished, with a lot happening in the middle third of the pitch.
47 min Kerr goes over in the area after a little shove in the back from Wienroither. Not enough for a penalty.
46 min Peep peep! Arsenal begin the second half.
Half time: Arsenal 0-0 Chelsea
File under ‘tactical battle’. Arsenal were the better side and had the only four shots on target, but they were all comfortable saves for Zecira Musovic. Aside from a few reminders of Lauren James’ rare individual ability, Chelsea have been hopeless going forward. The game, and the atmosphere, have been strangely flat.
45+2 min The last touch of the half is a half-chance for Sam Kerr, who heads Cuthbert’s high, hanging corner not far wide. There was no pace on the ball, and she had to force her way between two defenders, but her hands-on-head reaction suggests that she thinks she should have scored.
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43 min Reiten plays a slick one-two with Fleming, but Little tracks her diligently to block the cross.
42 min Nothing much is happening. In terms of old-fashioned entertainment it’s been a really disappointing first half.
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39 min James is booked for a cynical foul on Maanum.
39 min Charles has a shot from 20 yards blocked by Foord. This is a decent spell for Chelsea.
38 min The impressive James fizzes a pass into Reiten, whose early shot on the turn is blocked by Williamson.
37 min A corner to Chelsea, their first of the game I think. It’s headed away by Wurtig.
36 min Charles’s cross is headed away by Williamson. The ball goes to back to Charles, who goes over just inside the area after a collision with Foord. Nobody really appeals for a penalty, and life goes on. There’s no VAR in this game.
33 min Walti is given a warning for a foul on James, the one Chelsea player who has caused Arsenal problems.
31 min: Chance for Hurtig! Bright’s clearance hits Maanum, ricochets back off Bright and lands at Maanum’s feet. She turns and threads a lovely short pass to Hurtig, who rams a shot into the side netting from a very tight angle. Foord was waiting for a cutback in the six-yard box.
30 min Maanum’s corner goes straight out of play at the near post.
30 min Bright’s defensive header is hooked back towards goal by Walti, and Buchanan dives to head her shot behind for a corner.
29 min Chelsea are slowly starting to come into the game. James twists Catley’s blood on the right and rifles a low cross that is well cleared at the near post by the off balance Rafaelle.
28 min “It’s not you,” says Joe Pearson, “it’s me.”
Let’s be honest: it’s not you, it’s both of us.
27 min James plays a dangerous pass in behind the Arsenal defence, but Zinsberger hares out of her area to beat Kerr to the ball.
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26 min Charles sums up Chelsea’s performance so far by allowing a simple pass to slip under her boot and out for a throw-in.
24 min At the races Chelsea are not. It’s a bit odd.
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23 min “I’ve found it!” says Joe Pearson. “They actually decided to put it on the CBS Sports Network on plain old cable. Hurrah!”
Bye then. What am I, some kind of blogbuddy who you just use to satisfy your grubby football-related needs. I WANT MORE FROM THIS RELATIONSHIP.
21 min Maanum finds a bit of space between the lines and pings a drive straight at Musovic from 25 yards. That’s Arsenal’s fourth or fifth shot on target, though most have been straight at the keeper.
21 min “Listening to this while on my way to Leigh to see United v Liverpool,” writes Torran Turner. “Praying for a draw here. This is a top of the table clash, but don’t forget United are breathing down both of their necks. A draw here and a win for us later sees us level with Arsenal on points, and three points behind Chelsea with a game in hand.”
Yep, they still have an outside chance, and the win at the Emirates was such a big moment for an emerging team. That said, I suspect Marc Skinner would happily take third, and a Champions League place, if you offered it him now.
Here’s how the table will look if this game ends in a draw.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chelsea Women | 11 | 23 | 28 |
| 2 | Arsenal Women | 10 | 20 | 25 |
| 3 | Man Utd Women | 9 | 18 | 22 |
| 4 | Man City Women | 9 | 11 | 19 |
| 5 | West Ham Women | 10 | -3 | 15 |
19 min The tempo has been quite slow, though I suppose that’s to be expected straight after a winter break. Cuthbert tries to enliven proceedings with a long-range blooter that is blocked by her teammate Kerr on the edge of the area. She really caught that.
17 min “Do we have a moment to celebrate Jordan Nobbs – it was a shock to learn that she’d moved on from Arsenal (she needs to get minutes on the pitch to be in contention for the World Cup team),” says Charles Antaki. “It’’ll be hard to see her in another team’s colours, being such a fixture over the years. Strange. It’s true that she was only getting onto the pitch as a sub recently, but still, what a sub.”
I think she’s going to say farewell to the crowd at half-time. That’s a cracking signing for an increasingly impressive Villa side.
15 min That solo run from James aside, Chelsea haven’t got going at all in attack.
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13 min More good play from Arsenal. Little and Blackstenius combine to find Maanum, whose rising drive from a tightish angle is comfortably saved by Musovic.
12 min I’m talking absolute nonsense. Guro Reiten is playing just behind Sam Kerr, with Fleming on the left of midfield. As you were.
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11 min Arsenal on top on the moment. Foord cuts inside from the left, slithers past Charles and thrashes a right-foot shot from a tight angle that is claimed at the second attempt by Musovic.
10 min: Chance for Hurtig! Blackstenius runs at a backpedalling Chelsea defence and slips a lovely reverse pass through to Hurtig in the area. She scuffs her shot on the run and Musovic makes a comfortable save to her left. That was a really good chance.
9 min I got the formations the wrong way round when I listed the teams. Arsenal’s is closer to 4-2-3-1 and Jessie Fleming is playing deeper for Chelsea in a 4-3-3.
8 min “There are a lot of options, Paramount being a streaming service rather than a TV channel, as such,” says Joe Pearson. “But I could watch Sassuolo vs Lazio live right now. They will be carrying the United vs Liverpool game later today.”
That’s really odd. Wonder what the logic is.
6 min A thrilling effort from Lauren James. She robs Rafaelle in her own half, swerves elegantly past Catley and makes for the penalty area. Once there she cuts inside Little, onto her left foot, and drives not far wide from 15 yards.
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5 min Cuthbert plays a dreadful square ball just outside the Chelsea area, but she gets away with it when Blackstenius’s chipped cross is claimed by Musovic.
3 min Apparently thousands of fans are still stuck outside the Emirates, which is less than ideal.
Chaotic queues outside the Emirates, a lot of fans will miss kick-off. Everything (bar queues/tickets turnstiles) at women’s matches here always seems to take a lot longer pic.twitter.com/fnfQfTy6jX
— Nancy Gillen (@Nancy_Gillen) January 15, 2023
2 min Frida Maanum – who is playing much higher up the field than we expected – hits a speculative cross that is held by Musovic.
1 min Peep peep! After the players take a knee, Chelsea, kicking from left to right as we watch, get the game underway.
“In theory, Paramount+ has the US broadcast rights to the WSL,” says Joe Pearson, “but they apparently don’t think this top of the table clash is worth their notice. Ugh. Help me, Robi-Wan Kenobi. You’re my only hope.”
How odd. What are they showing instead?
The players are in the tunnel and ready for action. Most of them look very relaxed, though the captains Kim Little and Magda Eriksson hav their gamefaces on.
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Emma Hayes says Fran Kirby took a knock during Chelsea’s training camp, which is why she’s only on the bench.
Arsenal boss Jonas Eidevall and Chelsea boss Emma Hayes give their pre-match thoughts ahead of today's top-of-the-table WSL clash...💭👇 pic.twitter.com/81zHaJJ9Za
— Sky Sports WSL (@SkySportsWSL) January 15, 2023
The teams in (possible) formation
Arsenal (4-3-3) Zinsberger; Wienroither, Williamson, Rafaelle, Catley; Little, Walti, Maanum; Hurtig, Blackstenius, Foord.
Substitutes: D’Angelo, Wubben-Moy, Beattie, Kuhl, McCabe, Maritz, Pelova, Iwabuchi, Queiroz.
Chelsea (4-2-3-1) Musovic; Charles, Buchanan, Bright, Eriksson; Cuthbert, Ingle; James, Fleming, Reiten; Kerr.
Substitutes: Berger, Carter, Svitkova, Kirby, Perisset, Mjelde, Kaneryd, Abdullina, Cankovic.
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Pre-match reading
Team news
Some interesting decisions from both managers. Jonas Eidevall has left out Katie McCabe, with Luna Hurtig preferred in attack. McCabe joins Gio Queiroz, who has been recalled from her loan at Everton, and the new signings Kathrine Kuhl and Victoria Pelova on the bench. Leah Williamson and Kim Little return to the side as expected.
Emma Hayes prefers Zecira Musovic in goal to Ann-Katrin Berger, and Fran Kirby is also among the substitutes. So is Jelena Cankovic, who scored twice when Chelsea beat Reading 3-2 in their last WSL game before the break.
OUR STARTING XI ⚪️🔴 pic.twitter.com/jQ1M6wHGRA
— Arsenal Women (@ArsenalWFC) January 15, 2023
Your Chelsea team today. 💪#CFCW pic.twitter.com/9Z6sZgPOL3
— Chelsea FC Women (@ChelseaFCW) January 15, 2023
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Preamble
Hello and welcome to live coverage of Arsenal v Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium. These teams have been inseparable in the last couple of years, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they like each other. Right here, right now, this is the biggest rivalry in English football. Chelsea pipped Arsenal to the title by a point last year; this season Chelsea are three points clear having played a match more.
It’s the first of two meetings that may decide who wins the title, especially as the return game is the penultimate match of the season. Arsenal are without Vivianne Miedema and Beth Mead, who are both out for the season with cruciate-ligament injuries, but Leah Williamson and Kim Little should start their first WSL games since the autumn and the exciting signings Kathrine Kuhl and Victoria Pelova may be involved from the bench.
Chelsea have fewer injury concerns, though Pernille Harder is still missing with a hamstring injury, and they looked in ominously good shape before the winter break. Since that surprising defeat to Liverpool on the opening weekend, their record in all competitions is P15 W14 D1 L0 F49 A7. But Arsenal’s form in the same period is almost as good, and in their last game – without Mead, without Miedema – they put nine past an admittedly wretched FC Zurich in the Champions League.
Today’s match is likely to break the record for the highest crowd at a WSL match, and I don’t know what else to tell you. Put simply, this is a Brobdingnagian game.
Kick off 12pm.
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