Manchester City stunned by late Arsenal goals in twist to WSL title race
Manchester City 1-2 Arsenal: Stina Blackstenius struck twice late on to give Chelsea hope of hauling the hosts in
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A superb late brace by substitute Stina Blackstenius gave Arsenal a 2-1 win over Manchester City that re-ignited the Women’s Super League on Sunday, throwing a lifeline to Chelsea in a title race that had appeared to be done and dusted.
Chelsea boss Emma Hayes conceded defeat in the league after her stuttering side’s 4-3 loss to Liverpool in midweek, but Sunday’s result gives the Blues a glimmer of hope as the season reaches its climax.
With 21 of their 22 league games played, City top the standings on 52 points, five ahead of Arsenal and six ahead of Chelsea, but the Blues have two games in hand and take on already-relegated Bristol City later on Sunday.
Lauren Hemp, who recently signed a three-year contract extension at City, broke the deadlock in the 17th minute with a superb turn and shot that caught Arsenal keeper Manuela Zinsberger off guard and flew into the net.
City then made the mistake of taking their foot off the gas in the second half, and Sweden striker Blackstenius came off the bench to stun the home crowd, scoring the equaliser in the 89th minute before bagging the winner three minutes later.
The retiring Steph Houghton, playing her final home game in a Manchester City shirt, was denied a farewell appearance having been unsused as a substitute by Gareth Taylor.
The league leaders play their final fixture against Aston Villa on Saturday 18 May.
Manchester United’s preparations for next week’s FA Cup final against Tottenham Hotspur suffered a blow as they slumped to a 1-0 defeat away to Liverpool, a day after Spurs came back from going two goals down in the opening 15 minutes to draw 2-2 at Everton.
Also on Saturday, Alisha Lehmann got the only goal of the game as Aston Villa won 1-0 away to Brighton & Hove Albion.
Reuters
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments