Chelsea shrink title gap to Man Utd as Arsenal's UWCL hopes remain alive
It was a hard day at the office for relegation-threatened Leicester and Brighton, who found themselves on the receiving end of respective thrashings from the WSL title-chasers Chelsea and Arsenal respectively.
Chelsea mounted pressure onto WSL leaders Manchester United as they consigned Leicester City to 6-0 rout on Wednesday evening to shrink the gap to the top to one point.
Goals from Guro Reiten, Erin Cuthbert, Pernille Harder, Lauren James and Jelena Čanković secured the victory to crank up a heady title race, with Harder making the most of her first start for the Blues since November and firing a clear message to United ahead of Sunday's FA Cup final.
The loss sees Leicester sit two points clear of Reading in the relegation spot with just two fixtures remaining in the season.
Meanwhile, Arsenal dealt Brighton a 4-0 defeat to on Wednesday to keep the Gunners' hopes of Champions League football next season alive. A brace in the opening eight minutes from Stina Blackstenius ignited the onslaught, with Frida Maanum and Victoria Pelova both adding goals before the interval. However, another hamstring injury, this time suffered by youngster Gio Quieroz, threatened to overshadow the Gunners' comprehensive performance.
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Jonas Eidevall's side are currently level on points with Manchester City with a game in hand, while Brighton remain five points clear of the drop zone with two matches remaining.
Mirror Football takes you through the evening's talk points.
Chelsea shrink gap to Man Utd as message sent ahead of Wembley
Chelsea have loomed ominously in Manchester United’s wing mirrors for some time now, but the looming figure of the reigning champions is growing ever closer as the season bends into its final throes and it’s Chelsea who look most likely to overtake.
Both are still bidding for domestic double, but it is Chelsea who look most likely to overtake, and if United felt obliged to take a message from Wednesday evening's victory, it should be one of warning.
After sailing seven past an anaemic Everton over the weekend, a heavily-rotated Chelsea fired six past Leicester in another ruthless display of strength in depth from Emma Hayes.
With another game in hand and momentum firmly behind Chelsea, the Blues will fancy their chances at a fourth successive league title.
A date at Wembley awaits both sides, and it's not wrong to think that Chelsea emerge victorious, Hayes' side will assume an air of impenetrability as they bid to knock United off their WSL perch.
Lauren James scored Chelsea's fifth goal with a superb solo effort to seize her fifth WSL goal of the campaign (Photo by Harriet Lander - Chelsea FC/Getty Images)Hayes goes for rotation as Kerr rested
Following the understandable fret surrounding the Australian striker after she was spotted head in hands on the turf during Chelsea’s 7-0 thumping of Everton, manager Emma Hayes quickly poured water on any suggestion that Kerr’s injury was anything more serious than a combined bout of cramp and illness.
And while Kerr was handed a bench assignment against the Foxes, attributing a major FA Cup final on Sunday and a need to rest players ahead of a heady final few weeks is arguably the best perspective to take when assessing Hayes’ squad selection.
Hayes made six changes to the side from the weekend, a simultaneous necessity for a team still bidding for the domestic double as much as an inadvertent flex of squad depth that will be critical with the season's final two trophies on the line.
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Guro Reiten celebrates after scoring the team's first goal with provider Pernille Harder (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)Harder shows off quality with transfer rumours whirring
If this is to be one of the last few times women’s football fans are to see the Danish attacking midfielder donning that Chelsea blue, Harder is certainly making the goodbye all the more bittersweet.
Handed her first start since November following her injury, Harder opened the scoring for Chelsea as she fired a low, hard cross into the box that was met by Guro Reiten and converted into the far corner.
It was a statement of warning to Leicester's backline, who would find themselves unenviable prey as Harder, seemingly making up for lost time, gleefully varied her threats: lurking between the Foxes' centrebacks, harrying keeper Janina Leitzig or dropping deep to link up with Reiten and James.
Harder grabbed her first goal shortly after the half-hour mark, tapping home at the back post after Lauren James' low effort was spilled by Leitzig. Ten minutes later, Harder jinked through Leicester's defence and to slot home.
The performance further underlined what makes the 30-year-old attacking midfielder such a sought-after prospect.
Harder, alongside teammate Eriksson, is reportedly set to leave west London once her existing contract expires at the end of the summer, with a deal with Bayern Munich already signed.
In the lead-up to Wednesday, Chelsea manager Emma Hayes fervently refused to be drawn on the transfer speculation surrounding the duo – between which Chelsea have secured four WSL titles, three FA Cup titles, two Women’s League Cups titles and the 2020 Community Shield.
After the win over Everton, Hayes highlighted the impact Harders’ absence had on Chelsea's goal tally.
Leicester show fight once more but relegation threat still looms
Very few, if any, would have backed the Foxes to go to Kingsmeadow and emerge unscathed, but after a laudable performance against Arsenal, Leicester were overwhelmed as they were consigned to another unfortunate thrashing.
The loss sees unmoved in the table, two points off the WSL drop zone ahead of Reading. The Foxes can glean a positive in that Chelsea represent their hardest opponent in their remaining fight for survival, with West Ham and Brighton remaining on the checklist.
West Ham have yet to win a league match since November, while Brighton are relishing a similar shift in fortunes to Leicester after feeling the tentacles of relegation.
The relegation battle is far from over, but for now, at least this season’s Chelsea haunting has reached its conclusion.
Arsenal’s UWCL hopes still alive - and still plagued by injuries
Still playing catch up after their UWCL ties, Arsenal are still hoping to make this season’s Champions League places as they chase down Manchester City.
Tonight's win over Brighton have given them a huge boost at getting another chance of reaching the final next season after this year's heartbreaking exit against Wolfsburg.
Despite the huge win tonight, the injury woes have continued and the medical team remain busy with the Arsenal squad as substitute Gio Queiroz went down in the 70th minute with a hamstring injury. Although bad news for Gio, it was good news for Caitlin Foord as the Australian international made her return from her own hamstring injury.
Arsenal celebrate the team's third goal during the WSL match against Brighton & Hove Albion at Broadfield Stadium (Photo by Steve Bardens - The FA/The FA via Getty Images)Brighton’s fight for survival continues
Brighton are not safe yet and tonight showed they still need more time to gel under Melissa Phillips - as they let Arsenal run riot in the first 45 minutes of the game.
The focus is very much on mindset in Phillips’ tenure so far with the Seagulls, with the manager admitting pre-match the more the team feels pressure, the better they will perform - but the pressure got too much for them tonight.
The Arsenal front line was just too much for the Brighton defence to control, despite Katie Robinson’s best efforts who was monumentally the best Seagulls player on the pitch.
Brighton cling on to ninth place for dear life as Leicester also took a heavy thumping being beaten 5-0 by Chelsea - the silver lining for Mel Phillips’ side.
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