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Stina Blackstenius scored the winning goal in the 116th minute as Arsenal beat Chelsea in the Continental Cup final.
Blackstenius created dominance in Chelsea’s dominance to settle a tense encounter with a low shot that Chelsea goalkeeper Hannah Hampton was unable to stop.
This sees Arsenal retain the title, beating Chelsea as they did last year.
On a dramatic and emotional day at Molineux, Arsenal midfielder Frida Maanum left the pitch on a stretcher at the end of normal time after collapsing.
Arsenal’s Maanum ‘stable’ after collapsing on pitch
Reaction when Arsenal beat Chelsea to win the Women’s League Cup
Chelsea, whose dream of being the first English women’s team to win 4 trophies in a season since Arsenal in 2007 was dashed, looked like they had taken the lead in the 21st minute thanks to Mayra Ramirez’s 25-yard line.
However, the VAR, which works here unlike the Women’s Super League, detected that Erin Cuthbert had controlled the ball with her arm during the pre-season, and this was denied.
The respite gave Arsenal a boost as they finished the first half stronger. Katie McCabe’s stinging attack forced a fine save from Chelsea goalkeeper Hampton before Lotte Wubben-Moy fired a deflected volley from the resulting corner.
Cuthbert appeared to catch Blackstenius in the Chelsea box after the break, but it wasn’t enough to warrant a penalty.
Both goalkeepers made vital saves in the second half. Hampton got into action in the 66th minute, making a low save to deny Cloé Lacasse, before Manuela Zinsberger stopped Lauren James to deflect her shot.
It took extra time after 90 goalless minutes that ended in scenes of concern when Maanum lost the ball late.
Paramedics and physiotherapists from both groups attended to the midboxer for several minutes, before she left the box on a stretcher and wearing an oxygen mask, and Arsenal later declared she was healthy and able to speak.
In the end, in front of 21,462 spectators, a new attendance record in the Women’s League Cup, it was Blackstenius who achieved the magic moment.
The Swede broke away from Cuthbert in the box and fired home a record seventh League Cup crown for Arsenal.
The final represented the best, if only, chance of good luck for Arsenal this season.
In the Champions League and FA Cup, the Gunners also lead the league by nine numbers, Manchester City, and Chelsea, second in the WSL, with six numbers, with five games remaining.
This has put a test on coach Jonas Eidevall, whose only trophy in his three seasons was the League Cup last season.
Although Arsenal lack the consistency to compete in the league, they are capable of some exceptional performances. After overcoming the initial intensity of Chelsea’s pressing, they largely dictated the speed of this match.
It took almost until the end for that tension to take effect, as Blackstenius (the defender prized by Alessia Russo as the starting centre-forward in an important match) had remained largely anonymous.
That is, until his big moment arrived, and Blackstenius made the finish to provoke immense emotion in Eidevall, his players and the Arsenal fans.
Much attention has been paid to Chelsea’s goal of winning a quadruple as this is Emma Hayes’ final season before she leaves to take charge of the U. S. national team.
The Blues overtook them in the league (they won the last 4 WSL titles), but the League Cup proved to be a more complicated proposition. Chelsea have lost 3 consecutive finals in this competition.
Their efforts have been further hampered by a tight schedule and several major injuries. Chelsea’s XI has made six adjustments from the midweek Champions League match against Ajax.
These things contributed to a very tense but low-quality match. Another thing may have simply been the familiarity between the parties, with this seventh assembly in 15 months, giving enough time to exploit the opposition forces and cancel them out.
There were moments of individual genius, however, with James sublime and combative in equal measure. A fine cross-field pass gave Ramirez a chance 15 minutes from time, but the Colombian shot wide, before James herself was inches away from scoring the winning goal.
But Chelsea fell at the first hurdle of the quadruple, and their hopes ended in acrimony as Hayes and Eidevall faced the final whistle, with the Blues boss stroking his counterpart’s chest as they exchanged words.