wellnessfitpro
Key events
76 min: Chelsea keep the ball moving with style.
74 min: Chelsea’s subs have overwhelmed Spurs here, with Hamano, Cuthbert and Nüsken bouncing all over the place.
72 min: Chelsea make another change, with James off to a rousing ovation. Aggie Beever-Jones is on.
70 min: Three goals in nine minutes and Spurs have been flattened. James very nearly has her hat-trick, forcing Kop to make a decent save.
Hamano passes to Walsh by the edge of the area, who plays a brilliant first-time dink around the corner, picked up by Nüsken, who smashes past Kop. That should be the three points.
GOAL! Chelsea 4-1 Tottenham (Nüsken 67)
Electric football from Chelsea.
67 min: McCabe pulls off a nutmeg and Chelsea are playing with swagger now …
65 min: James plays a first-time dink over the top that nearly has Chelsea through on goal for a fourth. She’s having a great time.
James picks up the ball in the centre circle and has space to dribble, beating Koga before finding the bottom right corner with a delightful finish. Spurs, out of nowhere, look down and out.
GOAL! Chelsea 3-1 Tottenham (James 62)
She gets her second. Magical again from Lauren James.
60 min: Time for a few tweaks. Nüsken, Cuthbert and Hamano are on for Malard, Kaptein and Potter.
Thompson was having a quiet afternoon, but she suddenly finds a boost, thundering down the left before cutting back into the area. Carpenter, so lively today, times her run perfectly and finds the net with her left boot.
GOAL! Chelsea 2-1 Tottenham (Carpenter 58)
Carpenter gets the goal … but Alyssa Thompson does so much of the work.
55 min: Pelova races through on goal but she’s offside. She fires in a shot despite the whistle blowing, and earns herself a yellow card.
52 min: Carpenter bursts down the right after a one-two and is pulled back but play continues.
51 min: Malard is dropping deep to make something happen for Chelsea, and she launches over the bar after cutting in from the right and having a crack from distance.
49 min: Spurs are peppering the Chelsea goal; Vinberg launches from the D and Hampton punches it out. Corner.
48 min: Morris cleans up at the back for Spurs after Malard very nearly breaks free.
47 min: Spurs win a free-kick from range, but the offside flag is up quickly after the ball heads into the mixer.
46 min: We go again, with Spurs on course to get a point off Chelsea for the first time in the WSL.
HALF-TIME: Chelsea 1-1 Tottenham
Spurs have been excellent since conceding. We’ve got a very decent game on here.
45 min: Spence decides to have a go from 30 yards out … heading over but not a bad effort at all.
43 min: Spurs are playing with confidence, wheeling it around in midfield.
Spence wins the ball in midfield and Holdt picks it up on the left. She lays it off to Blakstad, who crosses to the far post, where Vinberg leaps to head in the equaliser. Chelsea concede for just the second time this WSL season. Spurs deserved that.
GOAL! Chelsea 1-1 Tottenham (Vinberg 42)
It’s been coming!
39 min: Gaupset bursts through midfield for Spurs before the dangerous Holdt picks up inside the area. Spence makes an overlapping run, receives and cuts back … but a blue shirt is in the way. They’re really giving Chelsea a decent game here.
37 min: Most of the game feels as if it’s being played down the Spurs left, Chelsea right. Carpenter whips in a teasing cross, but there’s no one there to finish.
35 min: Holdt’s excellent first touch gives her a chance to attack down the left … but her ball into the middle doesn’t find a teammate.
34 min: Hampton punches away the free-kick before James, so calm, dribbles away inside her own area.
33 min: Chelsea’s high press has Spurs sweating. Holdt wins a free-kick on the left wing for the visitors, taken down by Bronze.
31 min: Koga keeps up with Malard to block the forward’s effort, leading to a Chelsea corner.
30 min: Spurs push and push down the left: Blakstad crosses from the left, it’s headed back into the mixer before a volley forces Hampton into action.
28 min: Spurs respond well, with Buchanan forced to make a vital interception inside her area. Spurs waste the resulting corner with a routine that leads to the offside flag.
It’s all down to her. James presses high up the pitch to win the ball off Koga on the Chelsea left. She twists and turns to leave the defender trailing, driving into the area, and from the tightest, tightest, of angles, squeezes the ball past Kop to give Chelsea the lead. Magical.
GOAL! Chelsea 1-0 Tottenham (James 25)
A sublime individual goal from a special, special player.
22 min: McCabe to deliver, and she goes short to James, but her cross doesn’t reach the area. Spurs then take control of the ball … but Potter breaks up play once again. Chelsea drive forward once more, Walsh launches inside the area … and Ella Morris makes a goal-saving block, sliding to save her side. Brilliant defending.
21 min: Potter steals the ball in midfield as Chelsea march forward, and Carpenter wins a corner after her cross from the right is blocked out.
20 min: Kaptein drives down the right for Chelsea, looking dangerous, but can’t find Malard when she plays into the area.
19 min: Katie McCabe has way too much time to whip a ball into the area … and Malard heads over the bar.
18 min: Malard’s shirt is tugged back on the right wing and it’s a yellow for Amanda Nildén.
17 min: Spurs get a bit too loose at the back as Chelsea win the ball high up the pitch. James, with her dazzling footwork, wins a free-kick in her half.
14 min: Spurs have a free-kick from distance … and Pelova sends a dangerous ball into the area … but Buchanan makes a vital defensive header; Ella Morris was in behind, waiting to strike from close range.
13 min: A silly handball from Blakstad leaves Chelsea with a free-kick on the right … the ball into the mixer is headed wide by Bronze.
10 min: It’s taken short and Keira Walsh launches from miles out … it’s a strong effort and headed out for another corner.
9 min: Chelsea have picked up in energy … and Malard wins a corner.
7 min: Carpenter makes an excellent run forward for Chelsea, receiving inside the area before cutting back for Thompson … but a vital block denies an effort heading for the bottom corner.
5 min: Gaupset finds plenty of space in the middle, breaks to the edge of the area and launches a curling effort … but Hampton gets low to her left to deny the Spurs midfielder. The visitors look sharp.
4 min: Space for Lauren James to dribble through midfield … she then sends a delicious ball across goal from the left-hand side. Shame no one made a run for it.
3 min: Chelsea finally get a decent hold of the ball and Kaptein looks through on goal after a flick-on from Malard … but the flag is up.
2 min: It’s the visitors who take control of the ball, rolling it around at the back.
Peeeeep!
Spurs kick things off at Stamford Bridge.
Away we go, with the players out of the tunnel.
And Andrew Beasley takes in the season so far:
Here’s how Arsenal went yesterday.
Chelsea make four changes to the side that beat West Ham two weeks ago, with Lauren James starting after her double for England this week. Spurs make two tweaks, with Ella Morris and Matilda Vinberg included.
The teams
Chelsea: Hampton, Carpenter, Bronze (c), Buchanan, McCabe, Kaptein, Walsh, Potter, James, Thompson, Malard
Subs: Peng, Björn, Buurman, Cuthbert, Nüsken, Dragoni, Hamano, Baltimore, Beever-Jones
Tottenham: Kop, Morris, A. Nildén, Gaupset, Tandberg, Holdt, Vinberg, Pelova, Spence (c), Koga, Blakstad
Subs: Panengstuen, Dijkstra, Sombath, M. Nildén, Hanson, Gunning-Williams, Martinez, Wijk, Summanen
Preamble
Hello, hello, hello and welcome back to the WSL. Chelsea are unbeaten in the league and have conceded just once, and that was all the way back at the start of September. And yet, they find themselves second. Manchester City are the ones with the 100% record, looking to defend their title, and there isn’t room for any slip-ups. Arsenal already appear out of it.
Spurs are the visitors this afternoon, their own strong start hurt by a 6-1 defeat by London City Lionesses, and their record against Chelsea is torrid: 13 WSL games, 13 defeats. You know what they say … um, 14th time lucky. We get going at 12pm BST.
#Chelsea #Tottenham #Womens #Super #League #live #Womens #Super #League
