Chelsea move within reach of WSL title after beating Arsenal, Man Utd grab late winner to keep hopes alive
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Updated 21/05/2023 at 20:51 GMT
Chelsea are on the verge of a fourth consecutive Women's Super League title after a 2-0 win over Arsenal at Kingsmeadow. The Blues would have been crowned champions had Manchester United not got all three points from their derby against City on Sunday evening. Chelsea face bottom of the table Reading while United travel to Liverpool in the final round.
'We're going to have it all' - Man City fans celebrate league title with treble in sight
Chelsea moved to within touching distance of the Women's Super League title with a win over Arsenal, with Manchester United scraping a win over Manchester City.
The champions swept into a 2-0 lead in the first half when Guro Reiten made a perfectly-timed run into the box to connect with Eve Perriset's cross from the right, and then departing Blues captain Magdalena Eriksson's tap-in doubled the advantage.
In her final home match for Chelsea, Eriksson's goal - assisted by a cross-goal header from Sam Kerr - was received with rapturous applause.
Katie McCabe won, but then missed, a penalty for Arsenal just before the break.
Midway through the second half, Pernille Harder - herself another departing Chelsea legend - was substituted to a standing ovation.
Arsenal pushed hard to find a way into the game, but Chelsea kept them largely at arm's length as they saw out the final moments to secure victory.
As a result of Chelsea's win, United had to beat Manchester City in the late kick-off, and they grabbed a 2-1 victory amid dramatic scenes.
Hayley Ladd gave United a great start with a goal after just two minutes, and Ellie Roebuck compounded the away side's problems when she saw red on 42 minutes.
Despite the numerical advantage, City levelled through Filippa Angeldahl and had chances to win it, before an injury-time strike from Lucia Garcia kept United's title hopes alive - barely.
The title race will go to the final day when they travel to face Liverpool away, while Chelsea meet Reading.
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Magdalena Eriksson of Chelsea waves to the crowd following her final game for the club after the FA Women's Super League match between Chelsea and Arsenal at Kingsmeadow on May 21, 2023 in Kingston upon Thames, England.
Image credit: Getty Images
Elsewhere, Everton beat Brighton 2-1 in a match that lacked some of the urgency of the other WSL fixtures.
With neither side playing for much, it is perhaps no surprise that the match had a tepid feeling.
Katja Snoeijs opened the scoring with her seventh goal of the season, running onto a perfect cross-field ball from deep and finishing from a tight angle.
20-year-old Katie Robinson equalised before the break when she lobbed Emily Ramsey in the Everton goal.
Robinson almost set up a winner for Brighton but Lee Geum-min just failed to connect with the pass.
Instead, Swedish number 10 Hanna Bennison who had the final word, firing a 91st-minute winner through a crowd of Brighton defenders.
Victory ensures Everton will finish above city rivals Liverpool, while Brighton may yet slip into 11th place.
At Villa Park, Liverpool and Aston Villa shared the points in a 3-3 draw.
Manchester United loanee Kirsty Hanson got the home side off to the perfect start against Liverpool with an early goal.
Liverpool turned the match on its head with two goals in four minutes just before half-time.
American international Katie Stengel capped a lovely team move with a close-range header in the 37th minute, before Natasha Dowie made it 2-1. Emma Koivisto swung the ball in to Taylor Hinds who jabbed a ball across to Dowie who powered her finish into the net.
Liverpool came close to a third through Hinds, but her shot flew over the bar. Within sixty seconds, Villa had levelled through Rachel Daly.
Daly made it 21 WSL goals for the season with the final touch on a rapid Villa break. Before the half-time whistle blew, Villa lost Kenza Dali to injury.
Liverpool made a triple change on the hour mark and were rewarded with a second Stengel goal within a minute. The Reds re-took the lead as Stengel glanced a Shanice van de Sanden cross into the far corner.
Villa almost found an immediate equaliser but Daly's header cannoned back off the bar.
Hanson did bring Villa level with her second goal of the day, a rocket from outside the box as momentum see-sawed back the other way yet again.
The chances began to pile up for Villa as they poured forward in search of a winner.
Both sides had chances to win it from corners in stoppage time, but it finished all square.
Later in the afternoon, West Ham secured a 2-1 victory at Leicester City.
Sophie Howard's own goal put the away side ahead after 18 minutes, while Dagny Brynjarsdottir doubled the lead on the hour.
Any hope of a late comeback for the Foxes seemed to be dashed by Ruby Mace's 94th-minute red card for a second bookable offence.
However, Mackenzie Arnold fouled Aileen Whelan in the box, with Hannah Cain scoring from the spot - but it was too little, too late.
The result leaves Leicester two points clear of Reading, who are bottom of the table. A draw or win for Leicester in their final game next Saturday will see them stay up, while Reading must win to have any chance of relegating the Foxes.
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