After a postponement during the middle of the week, Chelsea had one mission in mind on Sunday against Leicester City: pass the league leader, Arsenal. The Blues not only beat the Foxes on the road, they put the most goals past a single opposition in one match since September of 2020. The 9-0 win over Lydia Bedford’s side puts Chelsea on top of the table, ahead of the Gunners on points and on goal difference, after Arsenal’s match against Tottenham on Sunday afternoon was postponed due to COVID-19.
The two clubs will meet in a highly anticipated FA Women’s Cup semifinal on April 17 for the right to go to Wembley. Chelsea pulled the worst option out of all of the teams in the pool, but the world gets to see the two best teams in English football battle it out. In the last FA Cup, the Blues dominated the Gunners 3-0 behind Samantha Kerr and her world class finishing abilities. The last contest in the league that featured these two teams was a back and forth affair where two evenly matched squads fought it out to end with both clubs splitting the points. If Arsenal is not going to win the WSL title this season, Jonas Eidevall will have his squad ready to battle for that semifinal fixture. Regardless, it’s good to see the Blues back where they belong in the WSL standings.
The Chelsea Women are back on top of the FA Women’s Super League
Each match has more and more pressure on it as the Blues can win the WSL title by one point if they win the rest of their contests. The next one on tap is arguably the toughest in the league for the rest of the season. The eighth-placed Royals of Reading pulled off one of the most miraculous victories against the Blues back in December, and it is now time for redemption. Reading was able to slay the dragon with only four shots, one shot target and one goal at the end of the last calendar year. Canadian international forward Deanne Rose stuck a dagger into the hearts of the Blues with her goal in the 4′ of the match, she’ll be looking to repeat history next weekend.
From November to early February, the Royals went on a streak when they were unbeaten in 90 minutes of football for 10 straight contests in all competitions. Reading has not won a single match in any competition since early February, despite that incredible run. Emma Hayes and the Blues have revenge on their mind from one of the most shocking defeats not just this season, but since the English manager took over in 2012.
In the first match against Reading, Kerr missed multiple chances, but after two goals against the Foxes, she extended her league lead in goals to four, ahead of Arsenal star Vivianne Miedema. Kerr will without a doubt be motivated to show her goal scoring prowess against a team where she failed to find the back of the net in last time out.
In the last match week of the season, Chelsea takes on Manchester United in a match between two of the top three teams in the WSL. This contest will have a lot of potential to impact both of these clubs’ aspirations. Man United wants to finish in the top three in order to qualify for next season’s UEFA Women’s Champions League and Hayes has her eyes set on a third straight league title. While the Red Devils may have never beaten the Blues, the last match between the two was one heck of a battle where Marc Skinner’s side had more of the ball in a 3-1 defeat.
Chelsea, for now, sits at the top of the table, but anything can happen with plenty of matches left. The Gunners play before the Blues next weekend, which will put pressure on Hayes and Co. to secure three points in their match later in the day. There is very little room for error in a campaign that very well could result in the WSL title being decided by less than two points for the third straight season. A scoreboard-shattering result puts the league on notice, but there is still a lot of work to do for Chelsea going forward.
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