1 year ago
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Goal! Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United (Kerr 23)
What a finish! James picks up the ball in the right-back spot and sends a hopeful-looking-but-actually-perfectly-hit ball towards Kerr, who has once again run off the back of United’s high defence and escaped between the centre-backs. The striker watches the ball drop over her right shoulder, brings it down with her chest and lofts a delicate shot over the shoulder of a helpless Earps and into the far corner. Sublime.
18 mins: Chelsea are coming into this. Leupolz makes her way to the edge of the United area but is crowded out before she can pick her pass. But the loose ball is picked up by Carter, who is roaming freely from left-back, and her pot-shot is blocked by Zelem. Blundell responds in kind by picking up the ball and galloping down United’s left flank but her floated cross is gathered by Berger.
13 mins: Another golden chance for Kerr as Fleming pick up the ball in the penalty spot and sees the striker on her bike. The through-ball bisects the centre-back and Kerr is away. The backtracking Blundell gets across and forces the forward to check onto her left foot, and her low drive is again saved by Earps, this time with her trailing feet. But she should have scored and she knows it.
9 mins: United have shaded the opening stages, with Chelsea yet to put together a meaningful spell of possession. But maybe they won’t need one - Turner misjudges a long ball to leave Kerr latching onto it on the edge of the box. She holds off Le Tissier and rifles a low shot at goal but Earps gets down well to save and hold. First big chance
5 mins: Good feet from Toone buys her a yard to feed the ball down the left to Galton, whose driven cross is cleared. Chelsea storm forward with James threatening to escape down the right, but Blundell recovers well to prevent the cross.
3 mins: Millie Bright cuts short another United attack, this time intercepting Batlle’s carefully lofted pass down the line and blamming the ball out of the stadium, Peter Kay style.
1 min: We’re off. United get us underway and get a feel for the ball in midfield before a hopeful hoof upfield is headed away by Bright at the heart of Chelsea’s defence.
Right then. The teams are out and game faces are affixed. Someone is the crowd is holding a “Sam Kerr can I have your shirt?” sign, which we can all agree should immediately disqualify them from getting it. Polite handshakes all round as kickoff awaits.
And from last week, Louise Taylor looks back at United keeper Mary Earps’ road to becoming the world’s number-one No 1:
But back to the matter at hand. Our WSL reporter Suzy Wrack senses United may be ready to pounce on a very-slightly-wavering Chelsea side, as she makes clear in her scene-setter:
… and the live blog. Get your Linekergate news hot off the press here:
And as Linekergate rumbles on, this game will be aired on BBC Two without presenters, pundits or in-house commentators. Hilarious? Absurd? A bit of both? A lot of both?
More on that here:
Team news
Man Utd: Earps, Batlle, Le Tissier, Turner, Blundell, Ladd, Zelem, Toone, Parris, Russo, Galton. Subs: Baggaley, Mannion, Thorisdottir, Boe Risa, Cascarino, Naalsund, Garcia, Thomas, Williams.
Chelsea: Berger, Bright, Buchanan, Carter, Perisset, Ingle, Leupolz, Charles, James, Kerr, Fleming. Subs: Musovic, Eriksson, Mjelde, Kaneryd, Abdullina, Cankovic.
Preamble
Is the project finally reaching fruition? Manchester United Women burst onto the scene five years ago with a Championship-winning promotion in their inaugural season, but their time in the WSL has since been about consolidation. Until now, anyway: three successive fourth-placed finishes have been followed up this season by a defiant title charge, spurred by the firepower of Alessia Russo and Leah Galton.
The side they’re out to dethrone? Today’s hosts and, chance would have it, the side most closely scrapping with United for top spot. Emma Hayes’ Chelsea are a point behind United having played a game less, so victory today would put them firmly in the driving seat. But a defeat would put them four points off the pace and leave that game in hand worth a whole lot less.
Spearheading Chelsea’s efforts to defend their title has been the similarly unstoppable duo of Sam Kerr and Fran Kirby. The pair’s combined goals-per-game record far outstrips Russo and Galton (Kirby has only played eight times so far and misses out today with a knee injury), and with today’s team’s the WSL’s two highest scoring by some distance, we can reasonably expect a toe-to-toe showdown.
United will be looking to end a hex that has seen them take one point from six WSL meetings with Chelsea. Their cause for belief may lie in their defence: Mary Earps has nine clean sheets from 14, and her side has let in just eight goals all season. With Chelsea stalwarts Magda Eriksson and Pernille Harder set to leave in the summer, a certain end-of-an-era feeling is in the air. And with Hayes’ side having wobbled with a cup capitulation against Arsenal last weekend, United may well be smelling blood.
“We are going to need to be ruthless against Chelsea because you don’t get many chances, so we have to make sure we take them,” said United manager Marc Skinner. “This game won’t define the title,” he added. If you say so, Marc.
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