Arsenal Suffers Defeat to Chelsea After Sock Mix-Up

Summary:

In a Women’s Super League (WSL) match between Chelsea and Arsenal on Friday, both teams faced a delay of half an hour after the Gunners had to change their socks due to wearing the same color as Chelsea, contrary to the rules requiring teams to wear different colors.

Initially, both teams wore white socks, violating the rule. Arsenal, as the away team, ultimately had to procure black socks from the Chelsea merchandise store and cover the branding with tape. Once the game started, Chelsea cemented their position at the top of the league with a 3-1 victory over Arsenal, who are currently third, in front of a record crowd at Stamford Bridge for a women’s football match.

Arsenal manager Jonas Eidevall later admitted to Sky Sports that he “doesn’t know” why his players wore the wrong socks, adding that the delay did not affect their performance as it was “fair for both teams.”

Star striker Lauren James opened the scoring for Chelsea in the 14th minute, beating two defenders and lobbing the ball over Arsenal goalkeeper Manuela Zinsberger, who attempted to clear it but ended up inadvertently putting it into her own net.

Just six minutes later, Sjoeke Nüsken doubled Chelsea’s lead after receiving a pass from Cuthbert in the box and slotting the ball home. Nüsken completed her brace before halftime, directing Johanna Rytting Kaneryd’s shot into the net to give Chelsea a 3-0 lead. A consolation goal in the 86th minute gave Arsenal faint hope, but the Gunners couldn’t mount a late comeback.

Chelsea manager Emma Hayes praised her team’s excellent performance afterward but told Sky Sports that she was “fed up” with an Arsenal player.

“It’s easy to dig but I feel for her because she’s new, it’s the last thing she probably wanted,” Hayes said. “If we had spare socks, I’d have given them to her.

“It didn’t bother us in the slightest,” she added. “The girls put on the exact performance I was looking for…they were all brilliant.”