Chelsea Women 3-1 Arsenal Women
Chelsea Men 4-2 Leicester City Men
Emma Hayes is still steering Chelsea Women towards four possible trophies. But fellow title contenders Arsenal need to pull their socks up.
Not that they had anything suitable to pull up ahead of their crunch clash at Stamford Bridge on Friday evening, after referee Becky Welch decided that the Gunners’ white socks clashed with the ones the Blues would be wearing.
A record league crowd for Chelsea of just under 33,000 had to listen to an extended DJ set while Sky Sport’s poor Kaz Carney stalled for the TV camera during the consequent 30 minute delay.
No alternatives had been packed on the team bus, so a hapless Arsenal gopher was dispatched to the Chelsea megastore to buy 20 pairs of their London rivals’ black second-kit socks.
To rub salt in the wounds, the shop refused to give a discount as the Arsenal officials weren’t Chelsea staff.
So £12.56 a pair was paid, and a roll of gaffer tape borrowed to mask the Nike swoosh, so as not to offend Gunners' supplier Adidas.
Easy win for the Blues
No wonder Arsenal seemed out of sorts when the game finally started. Lauren James, playing as a makeshift centre forward, dominated as the Blues went 3-0 up in half an hour, thanks partly to some fortuitous deflections.
Despite a late consolation goal there was no way back for the visitors, who left with only a kit bag full of dark, unloved secondhand socks to show for their evening in SW6.
It had been a game that many thought the Blues would lose. After all, Arsenal had well over a week to prepare, compared to injury-hit Chelsea’s five days.
Pochettino under fire despite victory
But while Chelsea Women fans had a spring in their step after Friday night’s victory, Chelsea men made hard work of their 4-2 FA Cup win over Leicester on Sunday.
Supporters can be a fickle lot. When a manager steers a team to a Wembley semi-final (even if the draw unkindly paired Chelsea up with Manchester City), they usually cheer his name to the rafters.
But when Mauricio Pochettino makes decisions that win matches, Chelsea’s army – spoilt for silverware in the Roman era – apparently know better.
Boos rang out when, in the dying minutes of the quarter-final, the popular Mykhailo Mudryk was subbed for Carney Chukwuemeka. There were more boos as Raheem Sterling was taken off in favour of Noni Madueke. There were even a few chants of ‘You don’t know what you’re doing’.
But Poch did. Both subs scored as extra time loomed, to put the game beyond doubt.
Chelsea men are showing distinct signs of improvement as the club’s motley assembly of talent displays pace, nifty footwork and – yes – goals, too. I blame the manager.
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and unless specifically stated are not necessarily those of Hammersmith & Fulham Council.
