It took until the 71’ for Chelsea to find a breakthrough against the team sitting at the bottom of the Women’s Super League table. In a match where the attack was completely stymied, the Blues once again found a way to grind out a result at the end of the season. After a long journey full of plenty of ups, and downs, they are now just one win away from the WSL title.
Birmingham City had its backs against the wall came out on a mission to play spoiler, all while attempting to escape relegation. It played one of its best matches of the season, but nothing came of it as Darren Carter and his team now have to win both of their remaining games to at least give them a chance to stay up. Just like the Tottenham match, Chelsea was clinical when it needed it the most. After the weekend, the gap now stands at four between the Blues and the field with Arsenal having a game in hand. This was a massive result for Emma Hayes’ side, to say the least.
Chelsea edged out Birmingham City to maintain its lead atop the FAWSL
After the crucial win, Hayes spoke on the team’s performance, stating:
"“I said it before the game: we are playing teams that have something to lose. Birmingham played tremendously well. I thought we were nervy in the first half—we rushed things and because the goal didn’t come … I say it all the time but Sam Kerr mustn’t be called offside when she’s not offside. The officials have got to do better with appreciating her movement. But job done, Pernille Harder has composure at the biggest moments, and I’m delighted.”"
Chelsea needed to remain calm when playing against a side that is now fighting for its FAWSL life. The Blues trounced Birmingham 5-0 back in March, so this was supposed to be simple. However, after 45 minutes of play when the ball never found its way past Emily Ramsey, Chelsea did not look like its true self. The Blues would get themselves in the correct position most of the time, but the finishing touch was just not there. Pernille Harder, Sam Kerr and Guro Reiten all came close in the opening phases, but it just felt like Chelsea did not have its shooting boots on for a match where it was paramount to have them.
Birmingham defended brilliantly for the majority of the match, but the real story was the Blues missing so many quality chances on net. Sound familiar? 20 shots and only three on target for a team that has that much talent in the attack is not going to get the job done against a better side in this league. A slick, wet pitch made for a lot of mistakes in the second half on both sides, but in the end, it was ultimately the Blues’ relentlessness once again that paid off. Shot after shot, cross after cross and none of them led to the decisive goal. However, Chelsea kept swinging in crosses until it finally paid dividends, and Harder finished the job from the spot.
While this match did not go as planned, a result is a result in the end. The quality of the finishing has to be improved for the next battle against Manchester United though, who is having its best season in its club’s history. Man United’s attack—led by Alessia Russo as the usual sole No. 9 alongside Leah Galton and Ella Toone in support—has the potential to wreak havoc against Chelsea. All three players rank in the top 10 in the WSL in total goals this season.
Hayes’ side has played the Red Devils twice this season already, and while both contests went in the Blues’ favor, there was plenty of struggle along the way. The story of the last two matches against Man United was Chelsea’s ability to capitalize when it is given an opportunity to add to the scoresheet. The Red Devils won the possession battle in both of the previous two contests, and in a pressure-filled match, that is not something Hayes will like to see this time around. The Blues need to be in control, find the space behind and take on defenders with the multitude of talent that this team possesses up top.
Against Birmingham, Chelsea gave its opponents life. In the last match of the season, just giving Man United a little bit of hope could result in another outcome like the Conti Cup final. The last two matches have not been the most flashy, but the job has been complete on both occasions. One more match in the league and everything this team has worked for this entire season will pay off. Ji So-yun will leave Chelsea as a champion and the Blues will head into the FA Cup final with loads of momentum and confidence to win revenge over Manchester City.
Man United has not lost a match since early February, so Chelsea will need to change that in order to lift a third consecutive league title at Kingsmeadow.