LONDON – Title rivals Chelsea and Arsenal cancelled each other out in a tight 0-0 draw in the Women’s Super League.
Reigning champions Chelsea knew that victory would see them climb back to the top of the table as Emma Hayes’s side chase a third successive league title, but the hosts created very few openings of note throughout.
League leaders Arsenal had the better of the few chances in the match, with Vivianne Miedema drilling a fierce strike against the post in the first half and several last-ditch blocks denying them in the second period.
Chelsea, who survived two goalmouth scrambles late on, had huge appeals for a stoppage-time penalty down the other end for handball against Leah Williamson waved away, as they had to settle for a point.
The stalemate means Arsenal remain top of the standings on 31 points from 14 matches played, two points ahead of Chelsea having played one game more than their title rivals.
Chelsea somehow kept the ball out in an 87th-minute goalmouth scramble where Arsenal had looked certain to snatch victory, and Chelsea then had a Jessie Fleming goal ruled out for offside during eight tense minutes of stoppage time, but ultimately fans were left none the wiser as to who will lift the WSL trophy in May at the end of what is the most competitive title race this 11-year-old division has seen.
Unmarked Sweden striker Stina Blackstenius then headed over from Steph Catley’s weighted cross, at the end of a first half which Arsenal will feel they should have made more of, having had the greater share of the territory in Chelsea’s half.
And, for as good as Arsenal were in the first 45 minutes, Chelsea upped their game in the second, with Sam Kerr, Harder and Kirby getting on the ball far more frequently and with Guro Reiten firing straight at Manuela Zinsberger from close range with their best opportunity.
Arsenal has not won at Kingsmeadow since a 5-0 win on 14 October 2018, on their way to winning that season’s title, losing both of their league visits since.
This was a much better performance, despite the absence of suspended Republic of Ireland left-back Katie McCabe, who was sent off in Arsenal’s last outing, a 1-1 draw at home to third-placed Manchester United, whom bookmakers would appear to have written off, offering odds of 100-1 for Marc Skinner’s team to win the title.
Before the game, both managers played down the significance of this contest and denied it would decide the title, with Chelsea’s Hayes insisting that more twists lie ahead and that the battle will go down to the season’s final day, but it was clear from the steely focus in the players’ eyes as they walked out for kick-off, and the high intensity with which both teams started the game, that they knew exactly how critical the result of this match would be.
