Peep! Peep! Peeeeeep! It’s all over at Kingdsmeadow, where Chelsea have gone three points clear at the top of the table ahead of Friday’s Manchester derby. Their class prevailed in the end and they won courtesy of three second-half goals. Pernille Haerder got two, while Fran Kirby made sure of the result shortly before the final whistle.
It’s another defeat at the hands of Chelsea for Arsenal, who find themselves even further behind in the title race. A Champions League place looks the best they can hope for, but on the evidence of tonight’s display, even that might prove well beyond them.
90+3 min: No they won’t - Kirby is back on the pitch and trying to chase down a lose ball.
Fran Kirby puts the cherry on top with her ninth goal of the season, getting in behind the Arsenal defence on to a through ball before hooking a diagonal effort past Lydia Williams from a tight-ish angle. The goalscorer immeditaely goes to ground with what looks like cramp and then walks off the pitch. Chelsea will finish with 10 (wo)men.
Fran Kirby of Chelsea scores her team’s third goal. Photograph: Harriet Lander/Chelsea FC/Getty Images
88 min: “Six ... seven minutes left!” shouts Emma Hayes at her players, as the clock shows two minutes plus whatever added time there might be remaining. Arsenal’s Leah Williamson gets booked for a scything challenge on Guro Reiten. She kicks the Norwegian up in the air but Reiten just gets to her feet without so much as a murmur ofcomplaint and gets on with it.
85 min: Having seen their 33-match unbeaten run come to an end at the weekend, it’s probably safe to assume Chelsea are now on a one-match winning streak. Their manager, Emma Hayes, demanded a reaction to defeat against Brighton from her players and she’s certainly got one. They are forced to defend as Maren Mjelde heads a a Jordan Nobbs header out of her own penalty area.
84 min: The corner is played short to the very busy Reiten, who wins another one as she attempts to drill the ball across the face of goal. Nothing comes of it.
82 min: Chelsea substitution: Guro Reiten on for Sam Kerr, who had just passed up a ashooting chance that might have but the game completely beyond Arsenal. The Norwegian’s first act is to take a corner, from which Arsenal break up the field to no avail. Moments later, Reiten sends a free-kick into the Arsenal penalty area, which is put out for a corner.
78 min: Arsenal win a free-kick just right of centre about three yards outside the Chelsea penalty area for a Millie Bright foul. It’s cleverly worked and Mead plays the ball short for Katie McCabe to curl a low drive towards the far corner. It takes a little deflection off Harder en route towards the goal but Ann-Karin Berger gets down to save well. A decent effort from Arsenal.
75 min: Arsenal are enjoying their best spell of the game, but is it going to be too little too late? They make a substitution: a not fully fit Jordan Nobbs on for Noelle Moritz. Lisa Evans moves back into defence.
73 min: Chelsea substitution: Ji So-Yun off, Bethany England on.
71 min: Lisa Evans makes a run into the right side of the Chelsea penalty area before pulling the ball back for Beth Mead. Her shot takes a deflection off Millie Bright, which takes the sting out of it allowing Ann-Katrin Berger to save comfortably. Better from Arsenal.
69 min: Van De Donk and then Miedmar find themselves in possession on the edge of the Chelsea box but neither can make the room to shoot due to obdurate and diligent defending by Chelsea’s players on their own 18-yard line.
68 min: Chelsea defender Sophie Ingle gets a ticking-off from the referee for some misdemeanour or other.
67 min: The game continues at a helter-skelter pace but with no sign of Arsenal pulling a goal back. They’ve got little change out of Chelsea’s defence in this half and the home side are in complete control of the game.
62 min: Emma Hayes, who is clearly reading this minute-by-minute report on the touchline, make her first substitution of the game. With a big smile on her face, Melanie Leupolz makes way for Erin Cuthbert.
59 min: Far be it from me to tell a coach as decorated as Emma Hayes how to manage a football team, but if I was her I’d seriously think about replacing one or two of my midfielders who are on yellow cards. Both Ji and Leupolz are walking that particularly tightrope and the former, in particular, is looking a likely candidate for a second yellow followed by the obligatory red.
Chelsea double their lead: Arsenal’s dismal run of results against Chelsea looks set to continue, as Pernille Harder bags her second of the evening. She roofs the ball from close range after being teed up by Andersson in the weake of good work down the left by Kirby.
Chelsea’s Pernille Harder celebrates her brace. Photograph: John Walton/PA
57 min: Sam Kerr finds herself bearing down on goal with only Lydia Williams to beat. The Arsenal goalkeeper stands her ground and Kerr rifles the ball off the cross-bar and over.
55 min: Arsenal defender Lotte Wubben-Moy tries to play the ball out of defence but gives it away. It looks little more than a matter of time before Arsenal concede a goal through their often comical attempts to play the ball out from the back.
53 min: Looking at Harder’s goal again, it is perhaps a little harsh to say Arsenal goalkeeper Lydia Williams should have done better. Although she looked slow to get down, the shot was perfectly placed in the corner where she just couldn’t have reached it.
51 min: Fran Kirby fails to kleep the ball in play, despite her best attempts to chase an overhit cross from the right along the byline.
A long spell of Chelsea dominance ends with Fran Kirby passing the ball to Pernille Harder, who shoots from distance. Her swerving effort lacks venom, but takes a little bounce before creeping into the bottom left-hand corner past the outstretched hand of Lydia Williams, who possibly should have done better. It was a well placed shot but had little power behind it.
Chelsea’s Pernille Harder fires in the opener. Photograph: John Walton/PA
47 min: Ji and Fran Kirby combine well on the edge of the Arsenal penalty area, but eventually run out of room.
47 min: Arsenal begin on the front foot but can find no way of penetrating a well marshalled Chelsea defence. The ball is run out of play and the home side have a goal kick.
46 min: Arsenal get play under way in the second period, with no changes in personnel on either side.
Peep! The teams go in for the half-time break with the dealock unbroken. Chelsea have been dominant against an error-prone Arsenal side who look incredibly ropy at the back, but they’ve failed to score. Fran Kirby went close for Chelsea, only to be denied by a splendid Lydia WIlliams save. Vivianne Miedma went close for Arsenal but put her shot to close to Ann-Katrin Berger after beating two players on a mazy run into the Chelsea penalty area.
45+ 1 min: Van De Donk tees up Lisa Evans on the left side of the Chelsea penalty area. Her shot clears the cross-bar and the roof of the stand behind the goal.
45 min: Having had the ball deep in Chelsea territory as they pressed and probed for an opening, Arsenal think better of attacking and play it all the way back to their goalkeeper.
Pernille Harder of Chelsea battles for possession with Leonie Maier of Arsenal. Photograph: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
43 min: Another of Chelsea’s midfielders goes in the book, this time it’s Ji for a completely unnecessary foul on Van De Donk.
39 min: “Manage! Manage! Manage! Manage!” shouts Arsenal coach Joe Montemurro from his technical area. That’s your job, mate ... at least for the time being.
37 min: More unconvincing defending from Arsenal, as Lydia Williams is forced to poke a Sam Kerr pull-back from the byline clear with her foot at the near post.
35 min: Interesting tactics from Emma Hayes, who is barking at her forwards to “Wait! Wait! Wait!” whenever Arsenal goalkeeper Williams plays the ball out to a defender. Hayes wants her players to hold their press until the defender is in possession and trying to move it on.
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