Halfway through the 2022-23 Women’s Super League season with Chelsea top of the table, is it too soon to declare them the winners after the Blues’ closest rivals dropped points again over the weekend?
The proposition for the teams at the top of the WSL will always be to navigate the season with as few points dropped as possible, with the acceptance that winning every single league game is a stretch. However, we’ve seen teams go entire seasons without losing a game — Arsenal in 2012, Manchester City in 2016 and Chelsea in 2017-18 and 2019-20 — and indeed, there is a lot a team can gain from a draw, especially if it’s one snatched from the claws of defeat.
Yet, a draw can also be a sizable blow. Arsenal fans might remember from their 2017-18 campaign how a scoreless draw against Yeovil Town dented their title chances and in isolation — due to finishing a point behind Manchester City — kept them out of the Champions League the next season, even though it was one of just seven games they failed to win.
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With stalemates for second-place Manchester United and third-place Arsenal on Sunday, it’s reasonable to wonder if, at this point in the season, this will be one draw too many for each side as they chase Chelsea at the top of the WSL table. As the Blues held on to see out the last minutes of a nervy 3-2 win over Spurs earlier in the day, Arsenal’s frustration in front of goal at West Ham may have just put all title challenges out of reach for the season. Hours later it was Manchester United, sitting two points behind Chelsea, who failed to score against a resolute Everton team.
Just brilliant. 😍 pic.twitter.com/aNlPr74EOS
— Chelsea FC Women (@ChelseaFCW) February 6, 2023
It’s worth picking out the sterling goalkeeper performances of both Courtney Brosnan and Mackenzie Arnold in the Everton and West Ham nets respectively. The two shot-stoppers worked hard to keep clean sheets and help their teams earn a point, which only complicates matters for Man United and Arsenal respectively from here.
There is plenty to analyse over why neither United or Arsenal could score when they posted 25 and 21 total shots — the Red Devils were notably wayward, managing just four efforts on target. To their credit, Arsenal worked Arnold more with their nine shots on target, completely camping in the West Ham half and keeping the Irons from even having a shot of their own after the 10th minute. Compare that with the nine attempts Chelsea managed against Spurs — and three goals from five shots put on frame — and you can see three different matches with both Spurs and Everton able to go forward against their opponents.
