Chelsea Women 2-0 Arsenal Women
It has all boiled down to a thrilling finish in the Women’s Super League, with Chelsea guaranteed the title if they can beat Reading on the final day this Saturday.
But top-flight survival for the Royals is still mathematically possible if they beat the Blues, and Leicester lose.
Meanwhile Manchester United (on a similar unbeaten run to Chelsea) could yet snatch the crown if they defeat Liverpool and Reading triumph. Both United and Chelsea’s games are away.
So the weekend’s final matches, which all kick off at 2.30pm, will have drama every step of the way. If, for instance, Reading are still holding Chelsea to a draw at half-time in the huge Madejski stadium, and United are winning at Liverpool, the tension will ratchet up a few notches.
Reading v Chelsea is live on Sky, while Liverpool v Man Utd is live on BBC One.
That the Blues, after another excellent season, are not already clear winners of this fascinating battle at the top of table says everything about the raising of the overall standard of women’s football in Britain.
If Emma Hayes’ team are successful, they will become champions for a record-breaking fourth time on the trot.
The Blues are in the driving seat, as they were against Arsenal at Kingsmeadow last Sunday, securing a 2-0 win against Jonas Eidevall’s team; revenge after defeat in the Conti Cup final at Selhurst Park in March.
It was an emotional day. Blues captain Magda Eriksson was in tears as she took the microphone in the centre circle at the end of the match and said goodbye to supporters.
Both she and her partner, striker Pernille Harder, are out of contract this summer, and are leaving together to join Bayern Munich... although that still hasn’t officially been announced as neither player wants to overshadow the climax to the season.
After the win against Arsenal they thanked Hayes and did a lap of honour to acknowledge the sell-out, flag-waving crowd. “Another amazing atmosphere at Kingsmeadow, thank you so much,” said Magda.
Magda, at the club for six years, and captain for three, capped her time at Chelsea with a scrambled 42nd minute goal after Sam Kerr’s downward header bounced into her path.
It meant Chelsea went in at half-time two goals to the good after Guro Reiten’s sliding opener on 23 minutes.
Chelsea saw out the match in the second half, with Arsenal captain Katie McCabe missing a penalty, sending the ball wide after Ann-Katrin Berger had dived the wrong way.
Now Blues fans hope luck will stay with them as they head down the motorway to Reading this weekend.
A serious squad rebuilding is already well underway behind the scenes at Chelsea, with a string of announcements planned over the next three weeks while Hayes enjoys a well-earned holiday with son Harry.
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and unless specifically stated are not necessarily those of Hammersmith & Fulham Council.
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