Sam Kerr may still be itching to get back into action with Chelsea after her injury woes, but the Matildas captain was in celebratory mood with her teammates at Stamford Bridge as she embraced them for the win that may have cemented another Women’s Super League crown.
It may only be January, but the unbeaten champions’ 1-0 win over big London rivals Arsenal, complete with their three Matildas, still had the feel of a defining moment in the title race as they moved seven points clear in the hunt for a sixth-straight English title.
Kerr, who’s been sidelined since last January when she suffered the ACL injury that forced her to miss the Olympics, hopes to return to playing next month or in March.
But it was clear just how key she felt this victory was as she came onto the pitch to join in the boisterous celebrations and hug Guro Reiten, her Norwegian teammate who put away the 84th minute penalty that won the day after Lauren James had been brought down in the box.
It was the first defeat for Arsenal’s new manager Renee Slegers and a chastening one which, following a second-half second yellow for Katie McCabe for dissent, leaves them 10 points adrift of the Blues in fourth, their championship hopes buried.
There was also bad news for one of the Gunners’ trio of Matildas as Caitlin Foord had to come off injured just before halftime.
Slegers explained Foord “had some problems with a muscle” earlier in the week and had begun to feel problems. “She said somebody else should come on as she couldn’t give 100 per cent,” added the manager.
But it was a huge day for Chelsea, as they celebrated their biggest ever WSL crowd at Stamford Bridge of 34,302, while also introducing their new world-record signing, American defender Naomi Girma, who’s being hailed in the US as the first million-dollar woman footballer.
Her appearance was just another sign for Kerr of what a changed Chelsea landscape she’ll be coming back into as they’ve clearly managed to thrive all season with a bunch of new luminaries and without their striking totem.
Indeed, all the talk at Stamford Bridge was of whether Sonia Bompastor’s team can go the whole season unbeaten in all competitions after their 11th win in 12 WSL matches.
“We’ve never clinched the Champions League. We’ve got five league titles in a row but going unbeaten would be unbelievable. We’re on a good road to doing that,” said their England international Lucy Bronze.
Manchester United moved second in the table after their 3-0 win over Dario Vidosic’s Brighton, who stay fifth, while Tottenham’s Olivia Holdt scored a brilliant stoppage-time winner from a free-kick on her debut to earn a 3-2 victory at Crystal Palace.
Leicester came from a goal down to boost their survival hopes with a 2-1 victory over Liverpool, while Katrina Gorry’s West Ham leapfrogged Everton with a 2-0 victory.
https://thewest.com.au/sport/soccer/sam-kerr-celebrates-with-chelsea-after-key-wsl-win-c-17518888
