15 March 2024 , 21:29
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What kind of omen is a delayed kick-off due to a sock clash? Especially when that clash delays what is meant to be one of the season’s biggest games, a title race decider of epic proportions?
Apparently it means Lauren James. And a merciless Chelsea. And title hopes in tatters for Arsenal.
Chelsea’s in-house DJ did an impeccable job at keeping anxious hearts from swallowing themselves whole as kick-off was pushed back half an hour at Stamford Bridge. But Chelsea made up for the half-hour delay by putting on a half-hour footballing masterclass.
Perhaps there was nothing more deserving for manager Emma Hayes' final WSL match against Jonas Eidevall, her final match at Stamford Bridge. But the Bridge is a stage and there’s one character who shines brightest under its lights. So it was with little shock that Lauren James opened the scoring with a lovely bit of skill which left the Chelsea faithful howling in delight. With less than 20 minutes gone, Sjoeke Nüsken doubled the home side’s advantage, fortuitously sticking out her leg to guide home Erin Cuthbert’s long-range strike.
The visitors, who in December had been the ones ‘bullying’ Chelsea, were now the ones incapable of getting within touching distance of their opponents, leaving too much space and too much wanting. Passes missed their mark and individual errors added up. As if to emphasise the distance between the teams in the opening half-hour, Arsenal's best chances arrived via a free-kick on the edge of the area. Beth Mead blazed her effort into the throng of travelling Arsenal supporters.
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Chelsea couldn’t empathise with such profligacy. They added a third shortly after the half-hour mark, Johanna Rytting Kaneryd’s shot deflecting off Nüsken and trickling into the bottom corner.
Alessia Russo, Stina Blackstenius and Emily Fox entered the fray at half-time to wrest something out of the game. But it was Chelsea who looked poised for a fourth only for Zinsberger to come up with three big saves against Kaneryd, then James, then Kaneryd again at the back post.
The second-half bled into another rendition of the first: Arsenal toiling to provide any dynamism and incisive movement; Chelsea doing just that. The Blues' defence remained dogged but it was a game of boldness and control, both of which Chelsea boasted in spades. Kim Little's strike deflected off Catarina Macario with less than six minutes of regular time remaining to give Arsenal their only goal of the match, but it was scant consolation for a critical loss in the title race.
Below are the talking points from Chelsea's 3-0 victory over Arsenal.
1. Arsenal title hopes in tatters
Chelsea players and fans will remember with gritted teeth the 4-1 evisceration at the Emirates Stadium in December, a haunting reminder of the carnage Arsenal’s attack can wreak when given the space to run into, or given any space for that matter. Did Chelsea learn their lesson? After 20 minutes the answer was emphatically yes: first through a lovely bit of work from James and then Nusken. That was 20 minutes gone and two goals for the home side.
Ten minutes later, it was three, a comprehensive and ruthless Chelsea performance leaving Arsenal's midfield in tatters, their defence in ruins and their attack utterly nullified. Arsenal's individual errors added up, a reality which felt inconceivable heading into the match.
The Gunners were tipped as the favourites to offset a Chelsea side riddled with injuries. But it's the Gunners who now stare up at six points between them and the top of the WSL table, the likelihood of bridging that gap in the final throes increasingly unlikely.
Meanwhile, Chelsea, remain on course for the quadruple.
Leah Williamson called her team together after conceding the third goal (Photo by Alex Burstow/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)2. Kit clash ahead of big clash
As if the nerves weren’t high enough, a delayed kick-off added that little bit extra of competitive jus to an arguable title decider. Arsenal's wearing of white socks and emergency run to the Chelsea Superstore led to a half-hour delay, one which left the likes of Arsenal legend Ian Wright and former England international Karen Carney less than impressed.
"Embarrassing" was the word. Friday night was billed as one of the season’s biggest and most definitive matches between two of English women’s football’s best sides. That a kit clash wasn’t discovered until minutes before kick-off wasn't a great look.
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3. James is main character energy
Of course it was James, dipping and swerving and stutter-stepping the way she does in these moments under the lights at Stamford Bridge. There’s no one who does it better and while it wasn’t another hat-trick at the Bridge, it was enough to reduce Arsenal's title hopes to fragments.
To say James’ first goal was a bit of individual brilliance is an understatement, though she can be somewhat thankful for Zinsberger's poor save. Even so, there was James and two defenders and a keeper. And there was only ever going to be a goal.
Lauren James scored Chelsea's first goalThe goal lifts James’ goal tally to nine in 12 WSL matches, making her Chelsea’s most lethal goal threat. And throughout the match, that's what she was, showing off her strength, ball skill and game dictation with the sort of nonchalance reserved only for the greatest stars.
4. Arsenal defence toil
With Wubben-Moy and Williamson as a centre-back partnership, the temptation to think of the duo’s potential combo for England was inevitable. But it was a game to forget for the Lionesses, who struggled to contain Chelsea’s attack and were largely culpable for Chelsea's third as Williamson's pass was intercepted by Kaneryd and Wubben-Moy failed to shut the forward down.
Williamson and Wubben-Moy’s individuals struggles were symptomatic of a performance besieged by them, but there was no denying that Williamson struggled to provide an answer to James, while the rest of the Arsenal team struggled to devise an answer to Chelsea's scintillating attack.
Leah Williamson called her team together after conceding the third goal (Photo by Alex Burstow/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)5. Chelsea 'talk less and do more'
Erin Cuthbert spoke ahead of the match of the need to ‘talk less and do more’ and there was arguably few other players doing as much as Cuthbert was. The Scotland international was everywhere, putting in tackles and winning everything in her path. Her tenacity seeped into the rest of the squad.
Full-back Ève Périsset did well to stifle Arsenal’s attacks and rattling Caitlin Foord in the process. Meanwhile, Kaneryd was unafraid to do the dirty work, though that could be said for almost all of Chelsea’s team.
Hayes had spoken about needing to be physical, to win second balls and not let up. Chelsea followed the plan exquisitely.
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