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Arsenal celebrate their third goal, scored by Mariona Caldentey (being lifted) - Getty Images/Alex Burstow
Renee Slegers insists Arsenal are poised in case Chelsea’s hold on the Women’s Super League title race “slips” following a comfortable 4-0 thrashing of Liverpool.
Chelsea started the weekend eight points clear at the top of the table, but Arsenal’s victory over Liverpool ensures they will remain ahead of Manchester United and Manchester City in the race to secure a Champions League place, with only the top three qualifying.
In front of 35,628 fans at the Emirates, which also included pride flags, pyrotechnics and a DJ set pitch-side at half-time, Arsenal never looked in danger of facing a repeat of Liverpool’s 1-0 win at Meadow Park. which knocked them out of the Women’s FA Cup this month, thanks in part to two own goals from Jasmine Matthews.
“So we have to do everything we can, so we believe that we can push and shake,” Slegers said. “That’s what we believe, but then we don’t know what Chelsea’s going to do, that’s outside our control, but we definitely feel that we can shake things and that we are ready that if anyone slips then we want to take that chance.”
When Arsenal took the lead just before the half-hour mark, it had a touch of inevitability and the result of the game was never in any doubt. By that point they had already registered seven chances to Liverpool’s none. Caitlin Foord was in the right place at the far post to knock the ball in after a flick on inside the box and break the deadlock. Initially it looked like the Arsenal winger might have been offside, but in the absence of VAR, there was no opportunity to have a second look.
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Caitlin Foord fires Arsenal in front - PA/Rhianna Chadwick
Immediately after the restart and just over a minute after the opener, Arsenal added a second. Kim Little was attempting to square the ball across the box, when Jasmine Matthews turned the ball into the back of her own net.
There was another query from the visiting players as one of the Liverpool midfielders was on the ground holding her head at the time of the goal.
Mariona Caldentey’s third was the pick of the goals, a cleverly curled shot into the top corner from the edge of the area, with the game’s result sealed by an unfortunate second own goal from Matthews.
While the match progressed to its foregone conclusion, there was another moment to savour for Arsenal fans when Victoria Pelova made her return to the field after 308 days out with an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
Arsenal’s next challenge will be to overturn a deficit against Real Madrid, and Slegers believes the fans and the stadium will have a crucial part to play in that, with the club boasting a strong record at the ground.
“The pitch is important for us because of the way that we play but I think just looking at where the women’s game is now and how hard Arsenal has worked for a long time to get here and we are playing consistently at the Emirates with so many fans and I think that’s fantastic what the club has invested. I think we thrive here as a group.”
Madsen accepts marriage proposal on pitch
Rikke Madsen made her Everton return after more than a year out after giving birth to her daughter in October.
Her comeback was made even more memorable when her boyfriend Martin Thomsen proposed to her as the team celebrated their victory on the field at Walton Hall Park.
“I’ve been waiting for this moment for so long now, a year,” Madsen told the BBC. “Ever since becoming pregnant I’ve been aiming to get back as quick as possible.
“Today my little baby is turning five months so it is so nice to be back. Ending off with my boyfriend asking him to marry him, that was a little twist – I did not expect that.”
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