Before a record-breaking attendance of little over 19,000 spectators at Selhurst Park, Arsenal defeated Chelsea in a gripping Continental Tyres League Cup Final thanks to a blistering offensive performance.
Since losing all five of their previous encounters with Emma Hayes’ team, Arsenal entered Sunday’s game looking to earn their first title in nearly four years. Chelsea, meanwhile, entered the field aiming to maintain their chances of winning the quadruple trophy and looking for their third Conti Cup championship in only four years.
Noelle Maritz replaced Laura Wienroither in Jonas Eidevall’s team, which had been defeated 2-0 by Chelsea in the FA Cup’s fifth round, while Hayes kept the same lineup.
starting XI for the Kingsmeadow victory.
Sam Kerr rose to meet a superb Guro Reiten pass and nodded home to put Chelsea in ahead after just two minutes. It was a brilliant start for the Blues in south London.
But Arsenal responded admirably, and they were rewarded for their quick turnaround when Stina Blackstenius, a Swedish international, swept the ball past Ann-Katrin Berger to restore parity after 16 minutes after Frida Maanum’s attempt rebounded into her path.
After Katie McCabe was brought down in the area by an errant challenge from Sophie Ingle, the Gunners didn’t have to wait long to take the lead. Captain Kim Little calmly converted her penalty. When Blackstenius connected with Catley’s cut ball into the six-yard box, it was almost 3-1, but Berger expertly stopped her near-post header.
With a shot that was nearly a perfect replica of her first, Kerr had an opportunity to tie the game, but this time she deflected Reiten’s cross just short of Zinsberger’s goal.
After only 40 minutes, Emma Hayes substituted center-back Kadeisha Buchanan in an effort to regain control of the match. However, her tactical change was ineffective, as Rafaelle’s header on the stroke of halftime—which Niamh Charles deflected into the Chelsea goal—left the Blues facing an uphill battle in the second half.
A few minutes after the break, Berger’s errant clearance rebounded off Blackstenius inside the box; the German goalkeeper was fortunate to see the ball blast back into her path. Things nearly got worse for Chelsea.
There weren’t many clear-cut opportunities for Chelsea in the second half despite their efforts to trim the gap, as Lauren James sent a speculative shot over the crossbar.
Late in the game, Leupolz came near with a well-executed half-volley attempt, but Zinsberger successfully stopped her shot to keep the score at 3-1.
The win gives Jonas Eidevall his first trophy of the job and the season, and Arsenal’s sixth Conti Cup triumph cements the club’s status as the competition’s most successful team.