MATCH INFO:

Chelsea 1, Arsenal 1 (Full highlights)

GOALS: 

Beth Mead (Vivianne Miedema), 86’

Lotte Wubben-Moy (OG), 90’

In a continuation of what was already a stellar women’s football weekend in the FA Women’s Super League, Chelsea and Arsenal faced off in the much-anticipated London derby. The match found second-place Arsenal vying to move back into first place following a Manchester United draw the morning before. As for Chelsea, a win or a tie in the match meant breaking into the top three in WSL standings.

Blues getting ready! ????#CFCW pic.twitter.com/M8CvTYsAZE

— Chelsea FC Women (@ChelseaFCW) November 15, 2020

GAME FACE: ????@JillRoordNL ???? pic.twitter.com/J2umeMSdcn

— Arsenal Women (@ArsenalWFC) November 15, 2020

Here’s how the action unfolded:

Late in a purely defensive first half, Arsenal striker Vivianne Miedema came up with the ball in the Chelsea box, settled the ball at her feet, and attempted a shot, only to be met with the blockade that was Chelsea’s defense. The ball was then scooped up by goalkeeper Ann Katrin-Berger to render Arsenal scoreless through 38 minutes of play.

Later, in the 43rd minute, a Chelsea turnover in their defensive third saw Arsenal’s Caitlin Foord intercept the ball and lift a shot from well past the eighteen — the ball struck the crossbar as Berger dove to make the save, bounced up to hit the crossbar a second time, and deflected back into the path of Arsenal’s Beth Mead. Already on her feet again was Berger, however, and the ball was punched out to end Arsenal’s near-scoring drive to conclude the first half in a 0-0 deadlock.

HOW has that not gone in?! ????@ArsenalWFC beginning to put the pressure on!#WomensFootballWeekend pic.twitter.com/Sxwa8hS1eF

— Barclays FA Women's Super League (@BarclaysFAWSL) November 15, 2020

With only 7 shots between the two sides during the first half, scoring the go-ahead goal was a top priority. In the opening minutes of the second half, Chelsea forward Bethany England received a pass outside the eighteen and lofted a shot that sailed just over the crossbar. England has been a key contributor for Chelsea this season, scoring three goals and recording two assists in five appearances for the club, but she couldn’t find the back of the net on this one.

Still scoreless after 72 minutes of play, Chelsea began knocking on the door in hopes of gaining the upper hand over their opponent late into the match. Ji So-Yun slotted a cross into the box, looking for Sam Kerr, but the ball was cleared to the feet of Pernille Harder. Harder attempted to finish the close-range shot but was denied by Arsenal goalkeeper Manuela Zinsberger.

Finally, Arsenal got the scoring opportunity they had been vying for all game — in a showcase of her speed and ability on the ball, Vivianne Miedema streaked past Chelsea’s defense to play in a cross, finding Beth Mead in the box. Sliding to meet the cross, Mead scored to give Arsenal the 1-0 advantage in the 86th minute.

GOAL!!! ????

Is that the winner from @bmeado9?!#WomensFootballWeekend pic.twitter.com/BgKspSidCe

— Barclays FA Women's Super League (@BarclaysFAWSL) November 15, 2020

Only for a moment did it seem that Mead’s goal had won the match for Arsenal, as Chelsea quickly transitioned into a counterattack. With Arsenal defender Lotte Wubben-Moy hot on her back, Pernille Harder took the ball to the goal line, attempting to play in a cross from the right wing. An unfortunate series of events would follow for Arsenal, as the cross deflected off of Wubben-Moy and looped into her own goal — tying the game at 1-1 with only 5 minutes of stoppage time left to play.

EQUALISER! ????

So cruel for Wubben-Moy who deflects @PernilleMHarder’s cross into her own net.#WomensFootballWeekend pic.twitter.com/uJE7jRw8hb

— Barclays FA Women's Super League (@BarclaysFAWSL) November 15, 2020

As the final minutes ticked away, Sam Kerr fired a shot that fell just wide of the net, nearly logging the game-winner for Chelsea but coming up short.

The match ended in a 1-1 tie as both squads secured a point. With the result, Arsenal remains in second place with 16 points, and Chelsea breaks into third place with 14 points. Still well within reach for both teams is the first place spot in the WSL standings, as Arsenal takes on Birmingham City and Chelsea faces off against West Ham on December 6th.

Nearly a winner at the death from @samkerr1!

What a crazy last ten minutes. ????#WomensFootballWeekend pic.twitter.com/kilGRa1O5K

— Barclays FA Women's Super League (@BarclaysFAWSL) November 15, 2020

WHAT’S NEXT IN THE FA WSL:

 

December 5th 

Aston Villa vs. Manchester United @ 7:30 a.m. EST

December 6th

Everton vs. Manchester City @ 8:00 a.m. EST

Arsenal vs. Birmingham City @ 9:00 a.m. EST

Chelsea vs. West Ham @ 9:00 a.m. EST

Tottenham vs. Brighton & Hove Albion @ 9:00 a.m. EST

Reading FC vs. Bristol City @ 9:00 a.m. EST

Adding to their already historic season, 2024/25 WSL champions and 2025 League Cup winners Chelsea FC handed Manchester United a 3-0 defeat in Sunday's 2025 FA Cup final, completing the club's second-ever domestic treble.

Though the Blues first claimed an elusive treble in the 2020/21 season, this year's roster did so without dropping a single match in any of the three domestic competitions.

"I could not have expected this," said first-year Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor about her debut success leading the Blues. "It is almost ideal in terms of domestic dominance."

To clinch that dominance, Chelsea upended the defending FA Cup champs Manchester United at London's iconic Wembley Stadium behind a brace from French fullback Sandy Baltimore and a header from USWNT attacker Catarina Macario.

Baltimore gave Chelsea the lead by slipping a late first-half penalty past 2024/25 WSL Golden Glove winner and USWNT goalkeeper prospect Phallon Tullis-Joyce, and the Blues never relented, with second-half sub Macario doubling their scoreline in the 84th minute before Baltimore tacked on a final goal in stoppage time.

"It's a very emotional day," an emotional Macario told the broadcast after finishing her first season following a long ACL recovery. "It's a trophy we always wanted to win."

"All the credit to my players," said Bompastor. "We showed our mentality and our values in this game so we ended the season in an almost perfect scenario – we won, we were playing at Wembley, the stadium was nearly sold out, and we had a strong performance and result against a strong opponent."

"It is an almost ideal way to finish the season."

FA Cup crowds prove sustained demand for women's soccer

Chelsea FC's undefeated treble-winning season wasn't the only notable victory on Sunday, as the FA Cup final drew a crowd of over 74,000 fans for the third straight year.

Sunday's 74,412 attendance mark was just shy of both last year's crowd of 76,082 and the 77,390 fans who watched Chelsea defeat the Red Devils in 2023 — all well beyond the tournament final's previous record of 49,094 attendees achieved in 2022.

Fueled by the football fervor following England's 2022 Euro victory — the country's first international trophy, men's or women's, since the 1966 men's World Cup — the 2023 FA Cup final still stands as the largest crowd at a domestic women's soccer match across all nations.

With Sunday's match joining the over-74,000 attendance club, it's clear the post-Euros enthusiasm wasn't a blip, but a boost to the continued growth and sustained success of the women's game.

While most WNBA stars hit the court running this weekend, a few saw their 2025 campaigns already shortened as teams released season-opening injury reports.

Phoenix forward Kahleah Copper will miss four to six weeks of play, the Mercury reported on Saturday, after the 2024 Olympic gold medalist underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on her left knee last week.

Another knee injury has LA's Rae Burrell sidelined for the next six to eight weeks, after the fourth-year guard took a knock to the right leg just 41 seconds into the Sparks' 2025 debut win over Golden State.

On Friday, the Mystics released updates on both second-year forward Aaliyah Edwards and rookie guard Georgia Amoore. While another assessment of the Unrivaled 1v1 runner-up's back injury will occur in two more weeks, Washington confirmed that the Australian standout will miss the entire 2025 WNBA season after undergoing a successful surgery to repair her right ACL.

Seattle's Katie Lou Samuelson is also out for the full 2025 campaign, with the 27-year-old Storm forward recovering from last week's successful surgery after tearing her right ACL in practice on May 1st.

Kitley makes long-awaited WNBA debut as Brink eyes return

In more uplifting news, LA's Cameron Brink is on track to return to the Sparks sometime next month, one year after her standout rookie season came to a halt in a left ACL tear.

Already celebrating, however, is 2024 second-round draftee Elizabeth Kitley, who battled back from injury to make her WNBA debut and score her first league points in Las Vegas's Saturday loss to New York.

The Aces took a draft chance on Kitley, despite the center suffering an ACL tear in her final NCAA postseason. In response, the former Virginia Tech star successfully translated her year-long delayed shot at a pro career by surviving Las Vegas's brutal 2025 roster cuts.

Notably, Kitley's close friend and collegiate on-court counterpart with the Hokies is the aforementioned Amoore, who will aim for a rookie-season redo of her own next year.

The No. 1 Kansas City Current strengthened their grip on the 2025 NWSL Shield race on Friday, taking down now-No. 3 Orlando 1-0 on the road to earn a four-point lead atop of the NWSL table.

Reigning league MVP Temwa Chawinga scored the top-table game's lone goal. With five goals in nine matches, Chawinga now sits in a four-way tie for second place in the 2025 Golden Boot race.

"If you don't come with heart, you have no chance," Current head coach Vlatko Andonovski said after the match. "And today I think we showed heart."

Kansas City now stands 7-2-0 on the season, putting the NWSL Shield firmly within their grasp.

Kansas City's rise aside, the weekend's biggest drama hovered near the playoff line.

Gotham FC fell to No. 2 San Diego 1-0 on Friday, sending the Bats skidding to No. 8 on a three-game winless streak while boxing No. 9 North Carolina out of playoff contention — despite the rising Courage securing their third win in four games with Saturday's 2-0 victory over last-place Chicago.

"Obviously, we were hot for a little bit, and teams have slumps all the time, so now it's just finding a way," Gotham midfielder Jaelin Howell said of the team's recent struggles.

While some rebuilds soar, last year's postseason contenders are still finding their way as the league moves into the second third of the 2025 season.

Indiana's 35-point blowout win over Chicago wasn't Saturday's only newsmaker, as a controversial foul on Sky forward Angel Reese by Fever guard Caitlin Clark sparked intense off-court conversations and a WNBA investigation into subsequent fan misconduct.

Clark's third-quarter foul against Reese incited a brief dust-up between the second-year stars, with Clark's offense upgraded to a Flagrant 1 while Reese and Fever center Aliyah Boston picked up a pair of offsetting technicals for their reactions.

"Basketball play. Refs got it right. Move on," Reese said after the game, while Clark told reporters, "It was just a good play on the basketball. I'm not sure what the ref saw to upgrade it, and that's up to their discretion."

Immediately following the flagrant ruling, however, Indiana fans allegedly directed racially charged remarks toward Reese, prompting the league to open an investigation on Sunday.

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Officials acknowledged allegations of racist abuse inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse, saying the WNBA "strongly condemns racism, hate, and discrimination in all forms," and that they're "looking into the matter."

"We stand firm in our commitment to providing a safe environment for all WNBA players," said Pacers Sports & Entertainment CEO Mel Raines, who oversees the Fever, in a statement.

"We will do everything in our power to protect Chicago Sky players, and we encourage the league to continue taking meaningful steps to create a safe environment for all WNBA players," echoed Sky CEO and president Adam Fox.

Unfortunately, this isn't the first time Fever-related fan misconduct has taken center stage, as last season's storylines start to spill over into the 2025 WNBA campaign.

In anticipation of the issue, the league launched "No Space for Hate" on Thursday, describing the campaign as "a multi-dimensional platform designed to combat hate and promote respect across all WNBA spaces — from online discourse to in-arena behavior."