Chelsea win Women’s Super League derby at Arsenal

BY GINA BAGNULO

Chelsea bagged a 2-1 win over Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.

With this derby being one of the most anticipated matches of the Women’s Super League (WSL) season, it was anyone’s guess which team would walk away victorious. Indeed, a crowd of more than 45,000 spectators eagerly watched to see if London would be red or blue.

Chelsea were hungry for a goal and asserted their dominance very early on. It only took three minutes for Maya Ramirez to score.

Fifteen minutes into the first half, Lauren James floated the ball into Sandy Baltimore who headed it into the Arsenal net past goalkeeper Daphne Van Domselaar.

Arsenal began to fight back when Caitlin Foord drove the ball past Hannah Hampton and slipped it into the Chelsea goal before half-time.

Having scored the final goal of the match and had multiple attempts on the Arsenal net, Baltimore was undoubtedly one of the game’s standout players,

Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor commended Baltimore’s skills on the pitch.

She said: “Sandy is a very good player, she has a lot of talent on the ball. She’s new, she’s learning about the team, the league and she can really have a big impact for this team.”

Coming in as a new manager, Bompastor had to contend with this high-profile fixture as one of the most competitive of the WSL season. Emma Hayes, her predecessor and US women’s national team coach, was one of the crowd’s many onlookers as she observed American players on both teams.

“For me this game is a derby, this is why this game is special,” said Bompastor.

“I know coming to the Emirates, that’s a difficult game to play because there are so many fans coming in. But for me, this game is about winning three points – no different from all the other ones. So I’m just going to make sure I prepare for every game in the same way, being professional and giving to my players what they need to be provided with and to make sure everything is clear with the game plan for the game.”

It has been a busy autumn for Chelsea as they have had to balance their WSL season with their Champions League campaign. In the Champions League, the Blues recently secured a 3-2 win over Real Madrid and will play Twente on October 17.

Continuing their WSL season, Chelsea are set to take on Tottenham on October 20 at Kingsmeadow.

PICTURE: PA