Pressure on Eidevall increases: Five things we learned from Arsenal 1-2 Chelsea | OneFootball

Chelsea beat London rivals Arsenal 2-1 at the Emirates, as the champions continue their winning form in the WSL and the pressure on Jonas Eidevall ramps up.

Mayra Ramirez opened the scoring in the fourth minute, with an impressive overhead kick that left Daphne van Domselaar rooted to her line as she watched the ball drop below the crossbar.

Sandy Baltimore got her first Chelsea goal just 12 minutes later, as the 5’1’’ left back got her head on the end of a stunning Lauren James cross.

Arsenal pulled one back on the stroke of half time through Caitlin Foord, the Gunners best player of the match, as she danced her way past Lucy Bronze to find the net from a tight angle.

Despite having 20 shots in the match, it was the same old story for Arsenal in front of goal as they failed to capitalise on their chances and went away empty handed.

Here’s five things we learned from the match…

Eidevall on the edge

Arsenal took Chelsea to the last day two seasons ago, but it’s been a struggle since then for the Gunners. Backed with transfers, and with a team pretty much back to full fitness, excuses are harder to find for the Gunners boss. The 5-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in the midweek Champions League after it was 2-2 at 65 minutes left fans asking a lot of questions, and those questions will not have gone away after today. In the WSL, they sit in sixth, with only one win from four. Will Eidevall be given the rest of the season to turn things around?

Chelsea in the driving seat

With the past seven WSL titles shared by these two clubs (Chelsea 6-1 Arsenal), there was no shying away from the enormity of this fixture in the title race. Chelsea were more clinical in front of goal on the day, and showed once again why they are the team to beat. They bagged the three points at the Emirates, reclaiming their spot at the top of the table with three wins from three, as they remain unbeaten in the Sonia Bompastor era. Meanwhile, Arsenal sit in sixth, having played a game more than most. With Chelsea’s match last weekend postponed, Man City have the chance to leapfrog the champions, who are hoping to make it six in a row, this weekend to keep the pressure on.

Arsenal off the pace

The two goals Arsenal conceded within the first 16 minutes were sloppy. A set piece from Chelsea, that Eidevall said they had been working on defending due to the known threat, was not cleared, and Ramirez was allowed the space to chance an overhead kick, which came good. Baltimore was allowed to run into the six-yard box unmarked for the second goal, and get her head on an unchallenged cross from James. In front of their own goal, they created 20 chances, but only four found the target and just one the net, a statistic reminiscent of their goalless draw with Everton last weekend.

Derby day

Not only was this a huge match in the context of the title race, but the London rivalry between these clubs made it an occasion at the Emirates. 45,860 fans came out in force, the highest of a WSL match so far this season, and Chelsea fans in the sold out away end made their voices heard amongst the sea of red. An exciting and feisty match saw drama right until the end, as substitute Stina Blackstenius almost found an equaliser in the closing minutes of the match, as her volley came off the underside of the crossbar.

Battle for the number 1

Eidevall had previously said he didn’t want to keep rotating his goalkeepers, because he wanted them to be fearless, something that comes from being unafraid of making mistakes. It seems, however, that shipping five goals mid-week was enough to see Zinsberger benched, as van Domselaar had a turn in goal today. Question marks remain over who Eidevall will start to favour.

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