- Lauren James was fouled by Kim Little and McCabe was shown second yellow
- Reiten converted from the spot to seal the win for Chelsea with six minutes left
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Chelsea extended their dominance at the top of the table by snatching all three points in a fiery battle at Stamford Bridge.
Guro Reiten’s penalty was all it took to ensure the hosts maintained their unbeaten record under new manager Sonia Bompastor, defeating their likeliest title challengers in front of a record crowd for a WSL fixture.
Prior to kick-off, Chelsea announced the highly-anticipated arrival of world record signing Naomi Girma from San Diego Wave.
Girma, who USA manager Emma Hayes described as the ‘best defender I’ve ever seen’ joins Chelsea on a long-term deal from the NWSL, and the centre-back praised Chelsea’s ‘winning culture’ at half-time.
‘This atmosphere is incredible and Chelsea have that winning culture and mentality,’ she said. ‘I just really wanted to be part of that group with the players, the staff and what the club stands for. I think it’s amazing.’
Chelsea have reportedly paid £900,000 for the 24-year-old, far surpassing the previous record paid by an English club for a women’s player for Colombia forward Mayra Ramirez. was believed to be €450,000 (£384,000 at the time) in January last year.
Chelsea extended their dominance at the top of the table with a 1-0 win over Arsenal
Guro Reiten’s penalty was all it took to ensure the hosts maintained their unbeaten record
Prior to kick-off, Chelsea announced the arrival of world record signing Naomi Girma
A statement of intent in front of a WSL record crowd of 34,302, the two factors combining to create a cauldron for the visitors.
Chelsea came out flying at Arsenal’s nervy defence, with both Erin Cuthbert and Catarina Macario testing Arsenal goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar in the opening few minutes.
Once the high-drama of the initial 15 minutes had passed though, Arsenal began to find their feet. A dodgy pass back from Cuthbert almost teed up Alessia Russo for the opener, but the Gunners’ No 23 dragged the shot wide of her England teammate Hannah Hampton’s goal.
The visitors came again a few minutes later, with Emily Fox breaking through the lines and getting a shot away.
They might have wished for a more natural finisher in that position though, with the right-back unable to generate enough power or accuracy to squeeze the ball between the gap of Hampton and her far post.
Play resumed much the same after the break, with Arsenal settling for greater possession but unable to do much with it, and would come to rue their missed chances in the first half.
Lauren James, making her first appearance in the league since October, was brought on after a cagey first 10 minutes, before Bompastor also called on Aggie Beever-Jones and Guro Reiten as the game began to stretch into the closing stages.
Running at a tiring Arsenal defence, James made one of her characteristic runs into the penalty area before she was dragged down by Kim Little.
A furious Katie McCabe was sent off after picking up a second yellow card for dissent
Sonia Bompastor’s Chelsea now sit nine points clear at the top of the WSL after Sunday’s win
Referee Emily Heaslip pointed to the spot and a furious Katie McCabe was shown her marching orders, picking up a second yellow card for dissent, before Reiten coolly converted.
The increasingly impatient crowd had finally been given something to cheer about and the lateness of the goal left Arsenal with too much to do and without enough time.
