Suzy Wrack's match report
Full-time: Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United
It will indeed. The referee blows her whistle to confirm a supreme Chelsea performance. It wasn’t pretty and they didn’t muster much more than a third of possession, but they invited United onto them, absorbed the pressure masterfully and Kerr, who could have had three or four, was a constant menace. Free-scoring United are left to reflect on a game where they created almost nothing. And now comes the true test of their mettle: they’ve been knocked off top spot by the champions, who have game in hand over them. With a third of the season still to play, their response to this will make or break their title bid.
92 mins: United’s vain attempts to fashion a chance continue as Zelem floats a straight ball into a crowded Chelsea box. It’s allowed to bounce on the penalty spot and for a split-second there is danger, but no United player is on hand and the ball bobbles out for a goal kick. And that’ll surely be that.
88 mins: You know the drill: long Chelsea clearance, hesitant United defence, Kerr latches onto it and finds herself clean through. This time, with the goal in her sights, she hits a fresh air shot and claims a foul by the challenging Perisset. No dice says the ref.
86 mins: More speculative balls into the Chelsea box, more comfortable headers clear. Eventually Russo manages to meet one but her looping header back across goal is nowhere near any teammates. Goal kick.
83 mins: United attack nicely down the right, working space for Zelem to send one into the mixer. The cross is hung up, but Berger rises above the crowd to claim the high ball commandingly. This is looking like a Chelsea win.
80 mins: Another deep right-sided cross from Chelsea, this time by Kaneryd, causes problems when Le Tissier can only head it to Leupolz, who is all on her own on the penalty spot. But she belts her effort over the bar!
76 mins: Perisset gets to the byline and chips a hopeful cross into the box which drops perfectly between two defenders and lands at the feet of Sam Kerr. But she sees it late and the first touch is just off. Earps smothers. Emma Hayes sends on Eriksson for Fleming.
74 mins: Again United mount another sustained attack, again they can’t create a chance at the end of it. Batlle makes inroads down the right and her shot is scissor-kicked towards goal by Russo, but it’s blocked and Ladd’s angled cross is headed clear.
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69 mins: Carter hares down the left to receive a long ball from her centre-back, getting as far as the byline before volleying in a great left-footed cross which bounces right across the face of goal but can’t find a taker. United send on Williams and Thomas for Toone and the ineffective Galton.
64 mins: Kerr finds herself in on goal again when she latches onto lazy pass by Zelem and makes a beeline for the goal. But the covering Turner gets across well, forcing the striker wide and then diving to block the eventual shot.
61 mins: First change of the game - Chelsea send on Kaneryd for James
58 mins: Good stuff from Parris, who takes down a powerful Blundell cross wit her thigh before hitting a first-time shot from inside the box. It’s blocked, but the striker barrels back to reclaim possession and feed Battle, who swings in a nice cross. Russo can’t get there but she pounces on the loose ball to shot – blocked again. United are upping the ante.
51 mins: Yet another great chance for Kerr, and from exactly the same route as the previous three: a long ball over the top. This time it’s Bright doing the honours, blamming the ball Kerrwards from well inside her own half. Le Tissier trots across to sweep up but Kerr scampers in, gives her a little nudge and escapes with the ball. She’s clean though and, coming in from the left, she shapes her right-foot shot towards the far post but can’t get enough bend on it. Earps is beaten but the ball goes just wide.
46 mins: The second half begins with no changes for either side. Niamh Charles gets caught for the game’s first offside before United work the ball down the left, Bright charging across to hoof the ball onto the roof.
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Half-time: Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United
United close out the half with a cross from Batlle that just evades Russo, before working a shooting opportunity for Zelem, who balloons it high and wide. It’s finely poised but Chelsea will be very happy indeed with their display, sitting deep and limited United’s openings to pretty much nothing while creating the best three chances of the game. Their only regret is that Kerr doesn’t have a hattrick. Get the kettle on.
42 mins: United find more joy on their right as Turner sends it down the line to Parris, but her low cross to Russo is just behind the striker, who can only backheel the ball safely into Berger’s hands.
38 mins: United continue to turn the screw, setting up camp in the Chelsea half and winning a free-kick out on the left. Zelem’s deep inswinger is met at the back post by Turner but she can’t quite get any purchase on her header.
35 mins: United’s first sniff of goal comes after they work the ball down the right and Toone’s first-time finds Russo, 10 yards out but at an angle. She takes a touch and hits a rising shot on the turn, but Berger is equal to it.
32 mins: Parris latches onto a through-ball from Batlle just inside the right-hand side of the Chelsea penalty area, and as she meets the pass she tangles with Buchanan, who has got the wrong side, and goes down. No penalty says the ref – but it looked like one.
27 mins: United look to respond immediately as Galton flies down the left and drills in a cross that skitters across the face of goal and behind. But United are yet to create a proper chance and Chelsea, who have had just 34% of possession so far, should be very happy indeed with their gameplan: they could be three ahead.
Goal! Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United (Kerr 23)
What a finish! James picks up the ball in the right-back spot and sends a hopeful-looking-but-actually-perfectly-hit ball towards Kerr, who has once again run off the back of United’s high defence and escaped between the centre-backs. The striker watches the ball drop over her right shoulder, brings it down with her chest and lofts a delicate shot over the shoulder of a helpless Earps and into the far corner. Sublime.
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18 mins: Chelsea are coming into this. Leupolz makes her way to the edge of the United area but is crowded out before she can pick her pass. But the loose ball is picked up by Carter, who is roaming freely from left-back, and her pot-shot is blocked by Zelem. Blundell responds in kind by picking up the ball and galloping down United’s left flank but her floated cross is gathered by Berger.
13 mins: Another golden chance for Kerr as Fleming pick up the ball in the penalty spot and sees the striker on her bike. The through-ball bisects the centre-back and Kerr is away. The backtracking Blundell gets across and forces the forward to check onto her left foot, and her low drive is again saved by Earps, this time with her trailing feet. But she should have scored and she knows it.
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9 mins: United have shaded the opening stages, with Chelsea yet to put together a meaningful spell of possession. But maybe they won’t need one - Turner misjudges a long ball to leave Kerr latching onto it on the edge of the box. She holds off Le Tissier and rifles a low shot at goal but Earps gets down well to save and hold. First big chance
5 mins: Good feet from Toone buys her a yard to feed the ball down the left to Galton, whose driven cross is cleared. Chelsea storm forward with James threatening to escape down the right, but Blundell recovers well to prevent the cross.
3 mins: Millie Bright cuts short another United attack, this time intercepting Batlle’s carefully lofted pass down the line and blamming the ball out of the stadium, Peter Kay style.
1 min: We’re off. United get us underway and get a feel for the ball in midfield before a hopeful hoof upfield is headed away by Bright at the heart of Chelsea’s defence.
Right then. The teams are out and game faces are affixed. Someone is the crowd is holding a “Sam Kerr can I have your shirt?” sign, which we can all agree should immediately disqualify them from getting it. Polite handshakes all round as kickoff awaits.
And from last week, Louise Taylor looks back at United keeper Mary Earps’ road to becoming the world’s number-one No 1:
But back to the matter at hand. Our WSL reporter Suzy Wrack senses United may be ready to pounce on a very-slightly-wavering Chelsea side, as she makes clear in her scene-setter:
… and the live blog. Get your Linekergate news hot off the press here:
And as Linekergate rumbles on, this game will be aired on BBC Two without presenters, pundits or in-house commentators. Hilarious? Absurd? A bit of both? A lot of both?
More on that here:
Team news
Man Utd: Earps, Batlle, Le Tissier, Turner, Blundell, Ladd, Zelem, Toone, Parris, Russo, Galton. Subs: Baggaley, Mannion, Thorisdottir, Boe Risa, Cascarino, Naalsund, Garcia, Thomas, Williams.
Chelsea: Berger, Bright, Buchanan, Carter, Perisset, Ingle, Leupolz, Charles, James, Kerr, Fleming. Subs: Musovic, Eriksson, Mjelde, Kaneryd, Abdullina, Cankovic.
Preamble
Is the project finally reaching fruition? Manchester United Women burst onto the scene five years ago with a Championship-winning promotion in their inaugural season, but their time in the WSL has since been about consolidation. Until now, anyway: three successive fourth-placed finishes have been followed up this season by a defiant title charge, spurred by the firepower of Alessia Russo and Leah Galton.
The side they’re out to dethrone? Today’s hosts and, chance would have it, the side most closely scrapping with United for top spot. Emma Hayes’ Chelsea are a point behind United having played a game less, so victory today would put them firmly in the driving seat. But a defeat would put them four points off the pace and leave that game in hand worth a whole lot less.
Spearheading Chelsea’s efforts to defend their title has been the similarly unstoppable duo of Sam Kerr and Fran Kirby. The pair’s combined goals-per-game record far outstrips Russo and Galton (Kirby has only played eight times so far and misses out today with a knee injury), and with today’s team’s the WSL’s two highest scoring by some distance, we can reasonably expect a toe-to-toe showdown.
United will be looking to end a hex that has seen them take one point from six WSL meetings with Chelsea. Their cause for belief may lie in their defence: Mary Earps has nine clean sheets from 14, and her side has let in just eight goals all season. With Chelsea stalwarts Magda Eriksson and Pernille Harder set to leave in the summer, a certain end-of-an-era feeling is in the air. And with Hayes’ side having wobbled with a cup capitulation against Arsenal last weekend, United may well be smelling blood.
“We are going to need to be ruthless against Chelsea because you don’t get many chances, so we have to make sure we take them,” said United manager Marc Skinner. “This game won’t define the title,” he added. If you say so, Marc.
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