Arsenal have been consigned to a 2-1 defeat at house to Chelsea within the WSL on Saturday afternoon, piling stress on the more and more precarious place of Gunners boss Jonas Eidevall.
Three days after getting thumped 5-2 by Bayern Munich in midweek, Arsenal shipped two objectives within the opening 20 minutes to a bodily dominant Chelsea aspect. Caitlin Foord decreased the deficit earlier than the break, however an improved second-half efficiency could not assist Arsenal keep away from falling to a second consecutive defeat for the primary time in virtually eight months.
Chelsea, against this, prolonged their excellent begin to life underneath Emma Hayes’ spectacular substitute, Sonia Bompastor.
How the sport unfolded
Bompastor informed her gamers earlier than the match that “it’s about having fun with this second”. Mayra Ramirez wholeheartedly embraced the event, silencing the swollen Emirates Stadium crowd of greater than 45,000 inside the opening 4 minutes with an audacious flicked effort. Dealing with away from objective, Chelsea’s towering quantity seven managed to hook the ball over her head and everybody else’s in Arsenal‘s crowded penalty space.
Eidevall’s out-of-form aspect have been bullied all around the pitch in a one-sided first half. Chelsea huddled right into a compact form off the ball and always discovered house to canter into when the chance introduced itself in transition.
Lauren James by no means wants a second invitation to surge, ploughing by means of a cluster of pink shirts earlier than clipping a ball to the again put up. Sandy Baltimore had the liberty of north London to walk onto the inviting cross, nodding Chelsea right into a 2-0 lead within the seventeenth minute.
One of many few figures in pink who had proven any resistance to Chelsea’s crushing begin was Foord. The dogged winger tiptoed round Lucy Bronze, turning down the shouts of her teammates to bend the ball round Hannah Hampton from a desperately slender angle, halving the deficit on the finish of an eventful first half.
Chelsea misplaced their manner after taking a 2-0 lead in opposition to Actual Madrid within the Champions League in midweek, finally pressured to nervily grasp on to a 3-2 benefit. The Blues additionally endured some shakier moments after the break on the Emirates, thanks largely to a a lot livelier efficiency from the hosts – they could not get a lot worse than these timid opening 20 minutes.
Stina Blackstenius got here off the bench to comb a late effort onto the crossbar from a set piece and Alessia Russo had a volley pawed away throughout a late flurry of goal-mouth exercise. However one week earlier, Eidevall had warned that his crew would want to “begin faster subsequent time”. That abysmal opening in the end price the Gunners, who’ve already dropped seven factors from the primary 4 video games of the brand new league season.
GK: Daphne van Domselaar – 5/10 – Remained rooted to the spot as Ramirez’s weird opener seemingly took an age to arc over her.
RB: Emily Fox – 3/10 – Dragged criminally out of place by Guro Reiten to go away Baltimore on their lonesome for Chelsea’s second objective.
CB: Leah Williamson – 2/10 – Bruised, battered and unmistakably overwhelmed. This was a day to rapidly neglect for England’s captain.
CB: Lotte Wubben-Moy – 3/10 – Supplied little assist to Williamson within the struggle in opposition to Ramirez – though it could have taken a whole crew of defenders to cease the Colombian on Saturday.
LB: Katie McCabe – 5/10 – Unusually subdued in each halves of the pitch.
CM: Kim Little – 3/10 – Even Little’s unrivalled composure was compromised on a day which rocked the foundations of the complete crew.
CM: Lia Walti – 4/10 – For a participant who prides herself on her capacity to make use of both foot, either side let her down in an unassured efficiency.
AM: Mariona Caldentey – 6/10 – One of many few shiny sparks in a bleak first-half, buzzing across the full width of the ultimate third in quest of a way to assist her flailing teammates.
RW: Beth Mead – 2/10 – Bompastor guess on Mead’s defensive negligence and it paid off. The Arsenal ahead could not make up for it on the different finish.
ST: Alessia Russo – 4/10 – Can by no means be accused of an absence of effort, however effectivity and finish product have been absent as soon as once more.
LW: Caitlin Foord – 7/10 – Unfazed by the physicality of the opponents, Foord stood tall and spearheaded Arsenal’s try at a fightback.
Substitutes
SUB: Frida Leonhardsen Maanum (67′ for Mead) – 5/10
SUB: Kyra Cooney-Cross (76′ for Little) – 5/10
SUB: Stina Blackstenius (76′ for Caldentey) – 5/10
Supervisor
Jonas Eidevall – 3/10 – One of many few issues a coach can actively work on is about items, but the Gunners have been a scrambling mess on the first nook of the sport three days after transport two objectives from dead-ball conditions in opposition to Bayern Munich.
GK: Hannah Hampton – 5/10 – Foord’s brilliance shouldn’t be neglected, however no goalkeeper can be too happy with being overwhelmed by an effort from such an acute angle.
RB: Lucy Bronze – 4/10 – Too simply side-stepped by Foord, who had the higher of Chelsea’s five-time Champions League winner.
CB: Kadeisha Buchanan – 6/10 – Stored a detailed eye on Alessia Russo all through.
CB: Millie Brilliant – 7/10 – A commanding presence off the ball who additionally managed to repeatedly unbalance Arsenal’s rearguard with racking crossfield passes.
LB: Sandy Baltimore – 8/10 – The beneficiary of Chelsea’s lopsided system, Baltimore was always inspired to canter ahead, sneaking behind an inattentive Mead to double Chelsea’s lead.
CM: Wieke Kaptein – 6/10 – Pushed excessive in Chelsea’s press which had combined success in opposition to Arsenal’s buildup.
CM: Sjoeke Nusken – 5/10 – Not completely composed when stress was utilized.
AM: Lauren James – 7/10 – A barrelling menace in the midst of the pitch, James did not shirk her defensive duties both.
RW: Johanna Rytting Kaneryd – 5/10 – Scuttled and scurried on the fringes of the match.
ST: Mayra Ramirez – 8/10 – An grownup amongst kids, Ramirez was an excellent mix of brains and brawn in a dominant show. A knock within the second half was the one factor that might gradual her down.
LW: Guro Reiten – 7/10 – Such is the lofty repute of Chelsea’s reliable star, her mere presence unnerved each pink shirt inside her massive sphere of affect.
Substitutes
SUB: Aggie Beever-Jones (63′ for Ramirez) – 5/10
SUB: Catarina Macario (64′ for James) – 5/10
SUB: Erin Cuthbert (74′ for Kaptein) – 5/10
SUB: Ashley Lawrence (89′ for Reiten) – N/A
SUB: Nathalie Bjorn (89′ for Kaneryd) – N/A
Supervisor
Sonia Bompastor – 8/10 – Teased Arsenal other than the touchline with the usage of Baltimore as a fifth ahead and made the mandatory adjustments to see out a win.
