Arsenal Women Beat Chelsea 2-0 As Mead Inspires Title Challenge

Arsenal moved right back into the Women’s Super League title race with a 2-0 victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, as Beth Mead produced a goal and an assist to damage Chelsea’s challenge and cut the gap

to Sonia Bompastor’s side to one point, with both teams still chasing leaders Manchester City.

The defeat ended Chelsea’s perfect league record at Stamford Bridge and could leave Bompastor’s squad nine points behind Manchester City by the end of the weekend, while Renee Slegers’ Arsenal responded strongly to a recent League Cup semi-final loss to Manchester United and finally ended a long wait for an away league win at Chelsea.

Chelsea had previously won 11 straight Women’s Super League matches at Stamford Bridge, scoring 25 goals and conceding five, but this latest setback also marked the first time Chelsea lost by more than one goal at home in the league since October 2018, when Arsenal ran out 5-0 winners in their last away league success over the Blues.

Both sides carried attacking threat throughout the match, yet Arsenal showed more composure in key moments, as Slegers’ team struck twice within six second-half minutes through Mead and Mariona Caldentey to secure victory, while Chelsea, despite matching Arsenal’s shot count and producing higher expected goals numbers, struggled badly with finishing.

Mead, who had overcome a fitness concern to start, finally broke the deadlock on 55 minutes with a sharp effort from a very tight angle that beat Hannah Hampton at the near post, before the winger created the second goal six minutes later with a driven cross from the right that found Caldentey unmarked, allowing the forward to fire past a static Hampton.

Stina Blackstenius thought the lead had grown when finishing clinically, only for the assistant’s flag to halt celebrations for offside, and Hampton later denied Blackstenius on two further occasions, while Chelsea’s most dangerous response came from Erin Cuthbert, whose powerful late header flew wide and summed up Chelsea’s lack of accuracy.

The opening stages belonged to Arsenal, who made a sharp start despite their recent League Cup disappointment, as Katie McCabe forced an early save from Hampton inside two minutes, Alessia Russo saw a goal-bound follow-up cleared off the line by Lucy Bronze, and Russo then nodded another chance wide as Chelsea struggled to settle.

Chelsea did create first-half pressure of their own, especially from set pieces, with Naomi Girma going close from a corner when meeting a flick-on at the back post, but defender Lotte Wubben-Moy produced a crucial goal-line clearance to keep the header out during a frantic first 20 minutes that saw chances at both ends.

After Mead’s opener, Chelsea briefly threatened an instant reply when Alyssa Thompson broke forward and dragged a shot just past the far post, yet Arsenal largely controlled territory after taking the lead, defended their penalty area with organisation, and cut through on transitions as Chelsea pushed higher and left more space in behind.

Data from the match underlined Chelsea’s wastefulness despite their pressure, as both teams recorded 18 attempts each, while Chelsea’s expected goals total reached 1.9 compared with Arsenal’s 1.51, but Bompastor’s team managed only one effort on target across the 90 minutes, whereas Arsenal tested Hampton more often and made their key chances count.

These figures emphasised why Bompastor may feel Chelsea should have taken more from the Women’s Super League contest, yet the performance also highlighted Arsenal’s defensive resilience and efficiency in attack, as Slegers’ players converted their best openings, protected the lead with disciplined structure, and moved themselves closer to Manchester City in a tightening title race.