Glory for some is desolation for others. While Chelsea’s players celebrated a fourth consecutive Women’s Super League victory, Reading are facing up to the reality of relegation. Chelsea’s 3-0 victory had the feel of a coronation from the word go, though Kelly Chambers’ side did try and upset the party atmosphere at times. There is just no touching the side Emma Hayes has built though, at least in England. A double triumph, having already sealed the FA Cup, is just the latest incredible season in their history. Now everyone at the club will be targeting a better Champions League performance next season.
With one team chasing a fourth consecutive league title and the other battling to avoid the drop, an attack vs defence first half was always on the cards. Reading looked compact in a 5-4-1 formation while Emma Hayes’ side looked to unlock the door at the Madejski.
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Sam Kerr teed up Lauren James for an early speculative strike. Then the forward had a go herself from the first of many delightful Eve Perisset crosses. The winger was allowed far too much space as Reading sat off her. They did offer some attacking threat, with Justine Vanhaevermaet nodding wide, but couldn’t sustain it.
Reading goalkeeper Grace Moloney kept her team’s slim survival hopes alive with remarkable saves from Erin Cuthbert and Lauren James. But the gifted custodian was powerless to stop her team going in two goals down at the break.
First, Guro Reiten whipped in a pitch-perfect delivery that was headed home by none other than Sam Kerr. The clinical striker did what she does best, giving the impressive Cuthbert no hope of getting a hand to it.
Chelsea doubled their advantage just before half time, when Reiten seized upon a defensive mistake before coolly slotting the ball between the goalkeeper’s legs. It was a cruel gut punch just before the break, one which probably stung as much in Manchester as it did in the home end of the Madejski.
Reading nearly conceded a third after half time. A cross caught Kerr out of position but if the striker had been a foot or so further forward she would surely have stuck it away. Kerr launched another attack five minutes later, slotting in Reiten who marauded through on the counter-attack. Reading laboriously tried to quell the danger, making a number of blocks before finally snuffing out the attack through Brooke Hendrix.
Hayes afforded Pernille Harder a send off with 20 minutes remaining. The Chelsea great leaves this summer and her substitution allowed the fans to give her the send-off she deserved. It was a touching moment that only served to punctuate a day of glory. This game also served as a farewell for Magdalena Eriksson. The captain was able to close her Chelsea account by lifting the WSL trophy.
With the trophy lift already being prepared behind the scenes, Sam Kerr made sure she had one more lasting impact on this season. The Reading defence went to sleep while she was wide awake, hitting the post the first time before lashing in the rebound. A lethal move that ended with the perfect player to put the cherry on top of an incisive sequence.
Two very different seasons await these sides next season. For Chelsea it will be a case of battling off the challenge of the likes of Manchester United in the league while trying to land that elusive Champions League. For Reading it is likely to be all-change, with the players facing an uncertain future as they prepare for life in the FA Women’s Championship. Football can be cruel sometimes, with the wildest celebrations taking place next to teams enduring utter desolation.
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