Arsenal 1-2 Chelsea: Gunners four points adrift of WSL rivals as Blues claim derby win

Saturday’s defeat to Chelsea at Emirates Stadium leaves Arsenal four points adrift of the league leaders after just four games of the 2024/25 Barclays Women’s Super League season.

Chelsea, who have a game in hand as a result of the postponement of their match against Manchester United last weekend, opened the scoring in N5 after just four minutes through an acrobatic effort from Mayra Ramírez.

They doubled that lead soon after, with shoddy defending allowing Sandy Baltimore to expose a gaping hole at the back post and slot home from a Lauren James cross.

Arsenal’s Caitlin Foord halved the deficit just before the break, though the Australian’s efforts would not be enough to salvage a point as the pressure on Jonas Eidevall continues to build after an underwhelming start to the season.

As it happened

When Arsenal have placed heavy emphasis has been placed on defending set pieces in the buildup to a crucial London derby, arguably the worst possible start the Gunners could have faced was conceding in that manner.

Just four minutes had passed when Mayra Ramírez dealt the first blow at Emirates Stadium, stunning the home crowd into a frustrated silence as she rose to ripple the back of the net with an acrobatic overhead kick following a corner.

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Jonas Eidevall’s side, having been handed a 5-2 defeat by Bayern Munich in midweek, were in desperate need of a positive result to avoid falling further behind their rivals in the Barclays Women’s Super League title fight – but Alessia Russo couldn’t turn to connect with a Caitlin Foord cutback, and Kim Little soon shot over the crossbar from the edge of the box.

Before they’d truly had time to settle the nerves, the Gunners’ deficit had doubled. Played into a dangerous area on the right, Lauren James’ cross towards the back post was nodded home by Sandy Baltimore, with the full-back taking full advantage of Arsenal’s out-of-shape defence that left her unmarked.

Arsenal continued to push for a goal to ensure they remained in contention at the interval. Foord had seen an effort deflected wide of the post, Lotte Wubben-Moy had blasted over the bar and Russo’s strike had been deflected into the side netting before that goal finally came in the 43rd minute, with Foord tracking along the by-line, rounding Lucy Bronze before curling past Kadeisha Buchanan to give the Gunners a glimmer of hope.

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The momentum looked to carry into the second half with the first chance of note for Arsenal falling in the 52nd minute, as a Katie McCabe free-kick delivery was spurned just wide of the woodwork by Wubben-Moy.

The Gunners broke forwards well again ten minutes later, with neat work from Mariona Caldentey finding Russo in a dangerous position. The England international’s loose touch allowed Chelsea to clear on that occasion, however.

Arsenal would, to their credit, perhaps be unlucky not to register at least a share of the spoils after applying immense pressure in the second half in N5. Both introduced as substitutes, Stina Blackstenius and Frida Maanum looked to combine on the left flank, though the forward’s ball was delivered with a touch too much power for the Norwegian to latch onto.

It wouldn’t be Blackstenius’ last involvement in front of goal, though. Heading into the final five minutes of regulation time, the Scandinavian connected beautifully with a McCabe free-kick whipped in from the right – but her thunderous effort rattled the crossbar.

Six minutes of stoppage time couldn’t help the hosts either, with Chelsea’s Aggie Beever-Jones forcing the best chance as she drove straight into the receiving arms of Daphne van Domselaar.

Both clubs will turn their focus to midweek UEFA Women’s Champions League action, with Arsenal hosting Vålerenga and Chelsea travelling to face Twente.

The lineups

ARS: van Domselaar; McCabe, Williamson, Wubben-Moy, Fox; Wälti, Little; Foord, Mariona, Mead; Russo

CHE: Hampton; Baltimore, Bright, Buchanan, Bronze; Kaptein, Nüsken; Reiten, James, Rytting Kaneryd; Ramírez