We were beaten 1-0 at Stamford Bridge in the Barclays Women’s Super League on Sunday.
The game was goalless until the 84th minute, when Guro Reiten gave Chelsea the lead from the penalty spot following a foul from Kim Little.
Katie McCabe was sent off for dissent after the penalty was awarded.
WHAT HAPPENED
Daphne van Domselaar was called into action early on to deny Catarina Macaro, before Johanna Rytting Kaneryd then struck over the bar and Erin Cuthbert fired wide of the bottom left corner from distance.
We had to withstand a spell of early pressure as a dangerous Sandy Baltimore cross was then headed away by McCabe at the far post after Niamh Charles took Chelsea forward down the left.
At the other end, Kyra Cooney-Cross searched for Beth Mead, but the flag was raised for offside.
We had a better sight of goal when Cuthbert misplaced a pass backwards and Alessia Russo latched on to it, only to get past Millie Bright and drag her shot wide.
Mead’s following effort was deflected out for a corner and we were in the ascendancy when Cooney-Cross played the ball over the top to McCabe, but Charles was on hand to hook the ball away.
Cooney-Cross, Mariona Caldentey, and Emily Fox produced a tidy passage of play to get the latter into the 18-yard box but her shot was too soft to trouble Hannah Hampton, before Chelsea had another chance to open the scoring when Charles’ cross was volleyed towards goal by Macario, but van Domselaar showed quick reflexes to make a big save from close range.
Mead curled wide of the top right corner with half-time approaching after Little teed it up for her, before Caitlin Foord had to be replaced by Frida Maanum in the 44th minute.
Rytting Kaneryd shot straight at van Domselaar and Baltimore shot high and wide from distance as Chelsea had the first two opportunities of the second half.
We then made our second change of the afternoon as Stina Blackstenius came on for Mead.
Maanum’s long-range strike in the 68th minute was too central, allowing Hampton to get both hands behind it as the two sides struggled to make a breakthrough.
We had another chance to take the lead thanks to Blackstenius stretching to keep the ball in play, but Maanum curled just wide of the top right corner from close range.
Russo cleared the danger from a Macario free-kick as we did all we could to hold onto the clean sheet, but that was lost when Reiten struck a penalty into the bottom right corner after a foul on Lauren James from Little.
McCabe was shown a red card after the penalty was awarded.
James fired into the side netting and Aggie Beever-Jones shot straight at van Domselaar before Rosa Kafaji and Lotte Wubben-Moy came on for Little and Cooney-Cross.
Van Domselaar made good stops to deny Maika Hamano and Sjoeke Nusken from doubling the lead in stoppage time but we were unable to find a late equaliser.
WHAT IT MEANS
We remain third in the WSL, 10 points behind Chelsea and one shy of Manchester City.
WHAT’S NEXT
We enter the Adobe Women’s FA Cup at the fourth round with the visit of Bristol City at Mangata Pay UK Stadium for a 7.45pm kick-off on Wednesday.
Then we’ll return to WSL action away to Manchester City at 12pm on Sunday, before facing them again at home in the semi-finals of the Subway Women’s League Cup the following week.
LINE-UPS
Chelsea XI: Hampton, Bronze, Bjorn, Bright, Charles, Nusken, Cuthbert, Kaneryd (Beever-Jones 77), Macario (Reiten 77) , Baltimore (James 57), Ramirez (Hamano 46).
Substitutes (not used): Musovic, Lawrence, Kaptein, Mpome, Jean-Francois.
Arsenal XI: Van Domselaar, Fox, Williamson, Catley, McCabe, Cooney-Cross (Kafaji 88), Little (C) (Wubben-Moy 88), Caldentey, Mead (Blackstenius 66), Russo, Foord (Maanum 44).
Substitutes (not used): Zinsberger, Codina, Walti, Wienroither, Reid.
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