Mead sparks Arsenal win at Chelsea and Bompastor accepts WSL title has gone | OneFootball

The Chelsea head coach, Sonia Bompastor, conceded that the “title race is probably gone” after a Beth Mead goal and a second from Mariona Caldentey earned Arsenal a cathartic win against Chelsea. A first victory for Arsenal at Stamford Bridge, and a first away win against Chelsea in eight years, pulled them within a point of their rivals. The defending champions sit six points behind the leaders, Manchester City, who travel to London City Lionesses on Sunday.

“We know the title race is probably gone, but our mentality is to fight until the very end,” Bompastor told the BBC. “They [City] are in control and if they perform at their best it will be a difficult gap to close. My job is to make sure I lift everyone up and we take the learnings and we go into the next game ready to perform.”

There were some forced changes to Arsenal’s starting XI, with Olivia Smith’s suspension and Frida Maanum’s absence as a precaution after being hit by a ball to the head in training added to injuries to several key players, including the England duo Leah Williamson and Chloe Kelly.

Despite their depleted number, Arsenal were dominant in possession, weaving together some lovely patterns of play. However, the end product was notably absent once again.

As the game stretched, with Arsenal failing to capitalise on their dominance, it felt increasingly like it would be another game where they would be punished on the counter, as they had been against Manchester United in their 1-0 League Cup semi-final defeat on Wednesday.

Their best threat came from Mead on the right, the forward’s link-up with the full-back, Emily Fox, causing problems. It was no accident then that Arsenal’s breakthrough came from the England forward. Alyssa Thompson was caught out in the buildup in her own half, the stray ball falling to Alessia Russo who shifted to the edge of the area before sliding it to Mead on the right to fire in.

Having weathered a flurry of Chelsea chances, Arsenal made the task that bit harder, Mead finding an unmarked Caldentey by the penalty spot and the Spaniard curled the ball into the bottom corner.

“We’ve proven to ourselves how composed we can be, how we can set up really good chances which wins us the game. It’s so well deserved for the players because they’ve been so invested,” said Renée Slegers. “When the moment is there for this team, when it really has to happen, they do it every single time. There’s a lot of strength in this team in those moments.”

Chelsea pushed for the goal that would ignite a comeback but could not find it. It was Arsenal’s day and they remain in the mix for a place in next season’s Champions League. City were the real winners, though, their gap at the top preserved before they kick a ball on Sunday.

Header image: [Photograph: Andrew Couldridge/Action Images/Reuters]