It was the perfect send off for two club greats as the Chelsea Women ease past Arsenal to go unbeaten at Kingsmeadow in 2022/2023.
You could not have asked for a better game to close out another stellar campaign at home. While Manchester United did not cooperate beating Manchester City 2-1 by way of a stoppage time goal by Lucia Garcia, the Chelsea Women kept the title in their own hands. If United had dropped points against their rivals in Manchester, the Blues would be crowned the Women’s Super League champions for the fourth straight season before the final match week away at Reading.
Similar to 2022, Emma Hayes’ side must secure a result in the last match of the campaign. A non-losing result (without losing a plus-five goal differential) at Madejski Stadium is not only enough to bring the WSL title back to west London, but it also sends the Royals down to the Barclays Women’s Championship. With the loss, Arsenal is officially out of the race for a potential top-two spot, missing out for the third time in the last four campaigns.
Jonas Eidevall’s Gunners started the match with little to no energy as the Blues asserted themselves from the opening kick-off. Within the first 10 minutes, the west London outfit had found the back of the net despite it being called offside. A brilliant ball by French wing back Eve Perisset set up Guro Reiten to finish off her 18th goal contribution of the 2022/2023 league campaign.
For the 12th time in her career in west London, the captain Magdalena Eriksson found the back of the net in her final game in front of her home fans. If it wasn’t for the feet of Manuela Zinsberger, both players who will be departing the club would have a goal in their final game. The north London side never really got their footing into the contest until the 52′. Chances came and went for the away side, and with the stable goalkeeping by Ann-Katrin Berger, the west Londoners had collected fifth consecutive shutout in all competitions.
An emotional thank you from @MagdaEricsson to you, Blues. 💙#CFCW pic.twitter.com/IBLURF122H
— Chelsea FC Women (@ChelseaFCW) May 21, 2023
It was a day of celebration and sadness all in one as two of the club’s greatest contributors over recent years made the decision this past week that they will be departing the club. Eriksson and Harder both gave heart wrenching speeches to the crowd as they receiving a framed jersey from the club and a flag from the CFCW Supporters’ Group. Kingsmeadow was packed to the brim to send No. 16 and No. 23 out the right way.
You could not have written a better conclusion than Eriksson netting a goal in her final match for her beloved club. It may not be as relaxing as they may like in the final match week, but knowing they don’t have to win should ease a little pressure off of the players. Throughout the stands and on the pitch, the emotions were all over place. Here are three standout players from a match that could only be described as bittersweet.