When Arsenal and Chelsea met in Sunday's Continental Cup final, it was largely billed as the first leg of a potential quadruple for the Blues as they tried to do something remarkable in Emma Hayes' final season in charge. But the day ended with the Gunners spoiling that dream of their London rivals with a 1-0 victory in extra-time, thus not only ensuring their season contains silverware, but also preserving their status as the only English club to have done the quadruple.
It was a final that started in a lively manner, Chelsea striker Mayra Ramirez seeing a goal ruled out for offside midway through the first half because of a handball in the build-up. That was the closest we got to a goal in a 45-minute period that was full of half-chances: a powerful strike from Lauren James forced Manuela Zinsberger into an early save; Hannah Hampton tipped a fierce strike from Katie McCabe over the bar; and both Blues star Eve Perisset and Arsenal defender Leah Williamson came up with big blocks before half-time, too.
Beth Mead's mis-hit was the first opening in the second period, with Melanie Leupolz blasting over from the edge of the box at the other end. Arsenal probably should've been ahead a few minutes later, though, when Cloe Lacasse was through on goal, only for her shot to be straight at Hampton. The biggest chance of the 90 minutes fell to Chelsea right near the end, as Lauren James opted to shoot rather than to square for a team-mate, but did so once the angle had closed on her as she raced away down the right.
A medical emergency surrounding Arsenal midfielder Frida Maanum delayed the inevitable extra-time period and it was understandable that the game fell flat once she had been stretchered off after going down off the ball, but the Gunners battled hard and, perhaps driven on by what had happened to their team-mate, carved out a match-winning moment. Just minutes after she had missed a huge chance one-on-one, it fell to Stina Blackstenius and the Swedish striker made no mistake this time, firing past Hampton in the closing stages of extra-time to win the game.
GOAL breaks down the winners & losers from Molineux...
