Chelsea Hold Manchester City To Take Big Step Towards Women's Super League Title

The quadruple is well and truly on for Emma Hayes' side after a thrilling 2-2 draw...
20:26, 21 Apr 2021

This is the only Super League we want to see. On a thrilling night, Chelsea drew 2-2 with Manchester City to keep the fate of the WSL title in their own hands, with just two games to play. This really was the very best of the women’s game, a showpiece event to make the league proud after a testing week.

In a game which had absolutely everything, who else but Sam Kerr opened the scoring for the visitors. She got her 17th goal of the season heading home a corner after a breathtaking start. Both sides battled for supremacy but it was the Australian forward who made the difference as she headed home, past Alex Greenwood on the line. 

Kerr maybe should have doubled her goal tally soon after but it was City who would reply, with haste as well. Lauren Hemp flew down the left-wing to catch Chelsea out, and though Millie Bright will be disappointed with her defensive contribution, Chloe Kelly was on hand to tap the ball in and level the scores. 

Kerr was influential in Chelsea’s attacking play and would soon make a run that would prove crucial for Chelsea’s title defence. She pierced through the City defence and was seemingly brought down by the home keeper Ellie Roebuck, although replays show she may have been unfortunate with the decision as she got her fingertips to the ball. With no VAR, the decision was given on the pitch, and Pernille Harder stepped up to convert. 

Lucy Bronze saw her volley tipped over before the break by Ann-Katrin Berger while into the second half, Erin Cuthbert headed wide when she could have put the game beyond doubt. Minutes later City were level as Hemp was on hand to poke home after two Chelsea errors. First Fran Kirby, who has been so good going forward, gave the ball away with a wayward pass, while Bright again should have cleared it in the box. 

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That is what pressure does to you in key moments and as City flooded forward for the winner, they nearly got it. It was only a world class save by Berger late on to flick a header onto her own bar as she once again proved herself to be one of the finest goalkeepers in the world. She made several saves as Chelsea looked to catch their hosts on the break, but nothing could separate these sides at full-time. 

At the final whistle, it was Chelsea boss Emma Hayes who celebrated. She knows exactly how much this game meant to her side and that they simply could not afford to lose it. Had they conceded late on, they would have been chasing City for the title, but now they are just two wins from defending their crown.

You know what this means as well… the quadruple is still well and truly on, ahead of the Champions League meeting with Bayern Munich next week. Chelsea are likely to be champions, but what we saw tonight was something to make the entire women’s game proud. In a week where they were a mere afterthought of Florentino Perez’s ‘Super League’, they put everything on the line to try and wrestle the English title from one another. 

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