da realbet: Erin Cuthbert says Chelsea were frustrated after seeing their Women's Super League showdown against Arsenal bizarrely delayed minutes before kick-off.
da brwin: Article continues below
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Chelsea vs Arsenal kick-off delayedIssue with socks behind 30-minute waitCuthbert admits Blues were frustratedWHAT HAPPENED?
The clash between the WSL leaders and third-placed Arsenal was delayed for 30 minutes because of an issue with the away team's kit, resulting in their players having to wear their opponents' socks. Chelsea star Cuthbert has admitted that the disruption caused some problems, despite her team going on to win the game.
AdvertisementGettyWHAT CUTHBERT SAID
"I think we were quite frustrated. We’ve been wanting to play the game for a while," she told . "We were quite fired up. But we went out there, we channelled it really well, we came out and did a warm-up because there’s always a risk and there’s always something in the back of your head about maybe getting injured because you’ve not ran in a little while, so we got moving and the fans made sure they were cheering for us and they kept us going.
"We’d already done our team talk. It was quite weird. The team talk was done. It was really, really late in the day that we found out but we’re professionals, we have to manage it. It’s our fault, at the end of the day, if we don’t start well, we’ve only got ourselves to blame. But I thought the girls handled themselves impeccably, everyone did their own thing and what prepares them best."
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Chelsea got off to a strong start as Lauren James fired in the opening goal after 15 minutes. Shortly afterwards, Sjoeke Nusken doubled their lead when she diverted a Cuthbert shot into the net and the German then added a third before Catarina Macario scored an own goal to pull one back for Arsenal.
GettyWHAT NEXT FOR CHELSEA AND ARSENAL?
The Blues' victory moves them three points clear of Manchester City at the top of the table and six ahead of London rivals Arsenal. They will now turn their attention to the first leg of their Women's Champions League tie against Ajax which takes place on Tuesday. Arsenal, meanwhile, will hope to get back into the WSL title race when they meet Aston Villa on March 24.