That’s all from me today. Thank you for reading this MBM.
| 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 |
| 6 | Tottenham Hotspur Women | 15 | -8 | 19 |
| 7 | Leicester Women | 15 | -9 | 16 |
| 8 | Aston Villa Women | 15 | -12 | 16 |
| 9 | Brighton & Hove Albion Women | 15 | -13 | 14 |
| 10 | Everton Women | 15 | -14 | 14 |
| 11 | West Ham Women | 15 | -14 | 12 |
| 12 | Bristol City Women | 15 | -25 | 6 |
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Hayes is markedly more nonchalant about Chelsea’s run in for the rest of March. [The plan is to] go home, rest, get a good night’s sleep. I don’t get too fazed with it. We have to get ready for a game against Manchester City midweek and I’m just proud of some of the young players, new players, they’re growing into Chelsea shirts and I really enjoyed watching them play.”
Emma Hayes chats to Sky Sports about Macario. “She hasn’t played football for more than 600 days. The medical team, performance team, she came to Chelsea and wasn’t in a fit state to play until now. We’ve had to do a lot of work with off the pitch so for her to get this moment, I’m so immensely proud of her.”
The debutant Catarina Macario speaks to Sky Sports. “The girls did a great job of taking care of business earlier in the game. I was definitely a bit nervous and the girls lectured me during the match. They could tell but they told me to have fun. Also, when you’ve been out for so long you’re just happy to be back on the pitch regardless.”
What a moment for Macario!
A fine finish from Catarina Macário 🙌@ChelseaFCW #BarclaysWSL pic.twitter.com/IAGznQ1uIf
— Barclays Women's Super League (@BarclaysWSL) March 3, 2024
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FULL TIME Leicester 0-4 Chelsea
Chelsea were too strong for Leicester in the end. Goals from Björn, Ramírez and Kaneryd put the game to bed but the biggest story is Macario scoring on her Chelsea debut. She can’t stop smiling as her teammates embrace her in the centre circle.
Leicester will feel disappointed but they can take some positives from their performance, especially in the first half. Kirk’s side tested Hampton a couple of times before Chelsea took the lead. Leicester have come a long way from losing 9-0 to Chelsea in 2022.
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90 min +5: Chelsea have one more chance in the final minute. Hamano wins a corner but the resulting cross doesn’t beat the first player. That’s the game…
90 min +3: Leicester are waiting for the full time whistle to blow. They started the game well but Chelsea have been too strong for the home side.
88 min: A chance for five! Fran Kirby plays the ball into Macario who performs a samba routine to evade a challenge from the Leicester defender. She helps it on to Hamano on the right but she fails to capitalise on the chance.
83 min: Chelsea’s strength in depth proves to be the difference between the two sides. No Lauren James, no problem. When Chelsea can bring on Macario and Beever-Jones late in games, it’s no surprise they’ve put four past Leicester.
GOAL! Leicester 0-4 Chelsea (Macario 77)
You can’t write stuff like this! Aggie Beever-Jones receives the near the Leicester box and plays her pass at the right moment to release Macario. The American doesn’t look like she’s missed a day of football as she gets the ball under control and strokes it into the bottom left corner. What a heartwarming story.
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72 min: It’s a big moment for Catarina Macario. She’s introduced as a substitue after 20 months out with an ACL injury. She’s grinning from ear to ear on the touchline.
69 min: Chelsea aren’t finished yet. Kaneryd and Sjoeke Nüsken play a fabulous one-two on the edge of the area. Kaneryd chops back onto her left foot in similar fashion to her goal. Instead of shooting though, she passes the ball to Nüsken who hits a low strike towards the bottom left bottom corner of the goal. Kop makes a fantastic save at full stretch.
GOAL! Leicester 0-3 Chelsea (Kaneryd 64)
Chelsea turn defence into attack in an instant. Čanković gets on the ball in the middle and plays a defence-splitting pass to Kaneryd on the right. The Swede shapes to shoot on her right foot but chops back onto her left to deceive the defender. Her left-footed strike takes a huge deflection to trickle past the Leicester keeper.
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60 min: Chelsea have remained on top in the second half. Emma Hayes’ side look more likely to score than Leicester. The next goal is crucial.
47 min: “How do Chelsea get away with telling Columbia that Ramirez can’t go to the Gold Cup?” Redmond Grimes asks. “Surely FIFA rules state she should go?”
Colombia are not a member of the member of the organising confederation for the newly introduced Gold Cup so her call up to the national side isn’t mandatory.
It’s just as well for Chelsea because she’s been their star player.
50 min: Ramírez has been the standout player so far. She picks up the ball the left and fires her attempt just wide of the right post.
48 min: Momiki picks up the ball on the left and cuts in neatly. The midfielder lines up the shot and hits into towards Hampton’s right. It’s a comfortable save but a sign that Leicester are still in this game.
45 min: I’m looking forward to this second half as Leicester get the ball rolling.
Emma Hayes also spoke to Sky Sports. “You have to match that, earn the right in any football match, particularly in the first 45 minutes. There’s no surprises, you have to match that and then focus on your own qualities, the team knows what to do. I know the dressing room is looking forward to it.”
Leicester will need to show their identity in the second half. They’ll feel slightly hard done by with the chances they’ve created so far.
Kirk spoke to Sky Sports. “We are about our identity. We are defensively a lot better than last year. But for us we are much better in possession as well. We are scoring goals every game. We are scoring goals from every area of the pitch so it’s that which we want to focus on today.”
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Apologies, I didn’t share the key takeaways from the managers’ pre match conferences.
Chelsea’s second goal was even better.
Phenomenal run and finish from Mayra Ramírez 🔥@ChelseaFCW #BarclaysWSL pic.twitter.com/qO5NpdTwEo
— Barclays Women's Super League (@BarclaysWSL) March 3, 2024
Take a look at Chelsea’s opening goal.
Björn buries it into the back of the net! 🙌@ChelseaFCW #BarclaysWSL pic.twitter.com/0UKwLjVJ2Z
— Barclays Women's Super League (@BarclaysWSL) March 3, 2024
Here’s a title race recap. Chelsea need a win to keep the pressure on their rivals.
HALF TIME Leicester 2-0 Chelsea
Chelsea have got a hold of the game with two goals in quick succession. It’s long way back for Leicester now.
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GOAL! Chelsea 2-0 Leicester (Ramírez 44)
Ramírez is back for revenge after her penalty shouts fell on deaf ears. She wins the ball from Julie Thibaud in the middle of the park. Using her strength, she drives through the heart of the pitch to stare Kop down 1 v 1. The Colombian wins the game of wits, taking the ball round the keeper to score in an empty net. What a composed finish!
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42 min: Chelsea should have a penalty. Ramírez muscles her way into the box despite Josephine Green’s best attempts to drag her to the floor. If she goes to ground, it’s surely a penalty.
40 min: It’s poor defending from Leicester rather than a great goal from Chelsea. Leicester half cleared the first cross into the box, sending the ball up into the air. It seemed to bounce for an age before Björn stuck it in.
GOAL! Leicester 0-1 Chelsea (Björn 38)
Björn hooks the ball into the back of the net from a corner. Leicester failed to clear their lines and Björn was first to the second ball to steer the ball in with her left foot.
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33 min: Ramírez almost has a chance to face Kop again. The forward is played through and is 1 v 1 with the Leicester keeper. The offside flag is raised though.
31 min: Lize Kop is almost caught in possession as Leicester try to play out from the back. The ball is played back to the keeper near to the Leicester’s corner flag on the left. Mayra Ramírez is on her in a flash but the referee calls a foul for the Colombian’s challenge on Kop. It didn’t look like a foul to me.
25 min: The game has settled down a bit as Chelsea play the ball around the back. The match started like a basketball game with chances at both ends. The players are enjoying a well deserved breather.
20 min: Emma Hayes looks furious on the touchline. Chelsea have let Leicester back in the game after a bright start.
16 minute: Another chance for Leicester. Rantala breaks away on the right hand side and drives her strike towards Hampton’s right. It’s a strong save by the England keeper but the ball falls to Leicester’s Yuka Momiki. The Japanese midfielder places her effort in the bottom right hand corner of the goal but it’s tipped round the post by Hampton.
16 min: Leicester are starting to grow into the game after a nervy few minutes.
11 min: This game has started at 100mph. Now it’s Leicester’s turn to attack. Jutta Rantala powers her way through a number of Chelsea challenges to fire a strike at Hannah Hampton. It looks like we have a contest on our hands.
7 min: Chelsea win another corner. The ball is swung in from the right and lands right on Jelena Čanković’s head. It’s headed off the line by the Leicester defender on the line.
6 min: Niamh Charles threads a beautiful ball into Johanna Rytting Kaneryd onto the right hand side. Kaneryd has plenty of time but rushes her cross into the box. It’s out for a corner.
4 min: Chelsea have started this game on the front foot. They look like a side with something to prove after the Manchester City defeat.
Updated
1 min: Chelsea almost score immediately. The ball is whipped in from the right to Guro Reiten. The Norwegian is unable to cleanly connect with the delivery and it’s out for a corner.
1 min: Chelsea kick off, playing the ball from right to left.
Kirk makes one change from the side who beat Bristol City in February. Courtney Nevin replaces Shannon O’Brien at the back. O’Brien is injured after the international break with England U23.
Emma Hayes makes four changes from the side who lost to Manchester City. Most notably, Lauren James is not available today because she has picked up five yellow cards this season. In more positive news for Chelsea, Catarina Macario is named among the substitutes after returning from an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
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The teams
Leicester City: Kop, Nevin, Tierney, Bott, Rantala, Whelan, Cayman, Green, Takarada, Thibaud, Momiki
Subs: Dowsett, Ale, Howard, Palmer, Pelgander, Baker, Siemsen, Petermann, Draper
Chelsea: Hampton, Périsset, Björn, Carter, Charles, Nüsken, Cuthbert, Čanković, Reiten, Kaneryd, Ramírez
Subs: Mušović, Ingle, Leupolz, Macario, Kirby, Hamano, Berger, Beever-Jones
Checking in 🔔#LEICHE pic.twitter.com/nfoxe5fusc
— LCFC Women (@LCFC_Women) March 3, 2024
Your line-up for Leicester. 💪#CFCW pic.twitter.com/jAD1QoPRmJ
— Chelsea FC Women (@ChelseaFCW) March 3, 2024
Preamble
Hello and welcome to live coverage of Leicester City v Chelsea in the Women’s Super League. If the last few meetings between these teams are anything to go by, you’re in for a treat. If you’re a Chelsea fan that is.
Chelsea beat Leicester 5-2 in this season’s reverse fixture and the Blues have recorded a 30-2 aggregate score in their last five league meetings against Leicester, including 8-0 and 9-0 wins in 2022. Emma Hayes’ side will be aiming for a similarly triumphant victory tonight to keep the pressure on Manchester City at the top of the table.
Leicester will be hoping tonight’s result bucks the trend however. Willie Kirk’s team will hope to build on their 5-2 victory over Bristol City before the international break. Three points against Chelsea would see Leicester leapfrog Tottenham and advance to sixth place.
A Chelsea win is the sensible prediction but they did lose their last game to Manchester City. Chelsea haven’t quite found their rhythm of late so it’s all to play for in this clash. Keep refreshing the page for updates.
Kick off 6:00pm.
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