Chelsea closed the gap to Women’s Super League leaders Manchester United to one point with a 3-1 home victory over Brighton on Wednesday.
Guro Reiten’s early penalty and goals from Jess Carter and Johanna Kaneryd put the result beyond doubt before Danielle Carter’s late consolation for the visitors. Chelsea have a game in hand on United, who they will face on Sunday in a potentially title-deciding clash at Kingsmeadow.
Hayes made seven changes to the team that lost Sunday’s Continental Cup final to Arsenal, but Sam Kerr kept her place. The Australian forward earned a spot-kick after being brought down by Zoe Morse in the 12th minute, although replays suggested Kerr should have been flagged offside.
Reiten stepped up to convert the penalty, and the Norwegian then turned provider as Carter turned and slotted home from her corner. Jelena Cankovic then hit the bar with an ambitious chip, and Kerr had a goal ruled out for offside as Chelsea kept the pressure on before half-time.
In the second half, Elisabeth Terland struck the bar for Brighton, who parted company with manager Jens Scheuer this week after just two months in charge. The struggling Seagulls fell further behind in the 73rd minute, as Kerr squared for Kaneryd to tap in Chelsea’s third.
Danielle Carter pulled one back in the 88th minute for the visitors, poking the ball home after good work in the buildup from substitute Veatriki Sarri – but Brighton remain in relegation trouble, two points above the bottom club, Leicester City.
“It was a great response,” the Chelsea manager, Emma Hayes, told Sky Sports afterwards. “I was really pleased with the team. They responded in the way that we all wanted them to, [and] they are upset about conceding a sloppy goal late on.”
Looking ahead to Sunday’s game, Hayes added: “We know it will be a sell-out here on Sunday. It’ll be a great game. We have a plan for [United], but I’m not going to talk about that on TV!”
Arsenal followed up their Continental Cup final success over Chelsea at the weekend with a 2-0 home victory over Liverpool. Stina Blackstenius and Caitlin Foord struck in the first half for the hosts, who boosted their faint hopes of muscling their way into the title race.
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The hosts were ahead through Blackstenius’ thumping effort from outside the box and into the roof of the net after 28 minutes. Foord doubled Arsenal’s lead six minutes later when she was on hand to tap home a rebound after Blackstenius’s powerful shot was parried back into play by Rachael Laws.
Jonas Eidevall’s side stay fourth in the table, three points behind Manchester City and six points adrift of leaders United, but with a game in hand over both Manchester clubs, after ending a three-game league winless run.
