Arsenal’s historic win at Stamford Bridge, late relegation drama and a cuppa with Alexia

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1:45Chloe: Upfront payment of$45 for a three-month plan equivalent to$15 per month required. Intro rate first three months only, then full price plan options available. Taxes and fees extra. Default terms at mintmobile.com. Hey, it's Howie Mandel, and I am inviting you to witness history as me and my Howie Do It gaming team take on Gilly the King and wallow 267's million dollars gaming in an epic Global Gaming League video game showdown. Four rounds, multiple games, one winner, plus a halftime performance by multi-platinum artist Travi McCoy. Watch all the action and see who wins and advances to the championship match against NIO right now at GlobalGamingLeague.com.

2:23That's GlobalGamingLeague.com. Everybody games.

2:32Rachel: Welcome to Upfront. I'm Chloe Morgan. And I'm Rachel O'Sullivan. Will the WSL ever stop delivering drama? Never! Arsenal got a massive win against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge to put a major dampener on the Blues title hopes. What a performance by Mido. There was also lots of action at the other end of the table with West Ham seeing off Leicester and Liverpool waiting until the very last seconds of the game to secure their first WSL win of the season. And Gareth Taylor's smile was something to behold. Finally, it's Champions Cup time for Arsenal and there's lots of money up for grabs.

3:21Rachel: that's not a prize thing that we're doing there's just obviously a lot of money in the champions cup competition um moments of the weekend Rach um there's so much to choose from uh I think I'm gonna give it to Freya Godfrey's goal yeah just purely because when I watched her

3:37Chloe: back I thought she was gonna step in and whip it in with her left foot and she didn't she went for like the hardest possible shot and scored it was it was an absolute rocket it was ridiculous

3:47Rachel: i felt sorry for yamashita i was kind of talking i was doing co-coms for the game and i was talking about the pace and the speed at which that goal went in um yeah it was one of those ones that is kind of in front of you and in your kind of remit and sphere of being able to save it but the pace of it and how close it is to goal just make it absolutely impossible there's nothing you can do um yeah that was a great goal and again from like one of like the wsl's rising young ridiculously see young stars. My moment of the weekend, I, as I said, was doing co-coms. I never in my lifetime thought that I would be saying these words live on radio.

4:22Rachel: I've just bumped into Alexi Puteis at Bromley. At Bromley. It was such a surprise going to grab a questionable cup of coffee from the urn. The urn? Yeah, from the urn. And then looking around. Should we delve into that? The urn. What's that?

4:42Chloe: Sorry, I think urn, I think. Like a tea urn. Dead body ashes. Oh, right, okay.

4:46Rachel: A tea urn. You've heard of a tea urn?

4:48Chloe: Never in my life.

4:49Rachel: God, you're like 40. I've not heard of a tea urn. You must have been to loads of like church fates and things like that. Anyway, I literally, in this little like, obviously. Was it like a meet you? Hospitality. Yes, obviously.

5:00Chloe: Did you like bump over coffee?

5:01Rachel: It wasn't so much that. It was more like. Did you shit the bed? I'm just, I'm just sorry. Yeah, I'm just, I'm sorry that I'm within. the presence of your aura um it was that kind of vibe and then you sort of look around you're like christ that i mean that was big enough that's kind of like a big enough moment in itself and then you've got mariona cadelty there you've got alicia thompson alissa thompson there you've got um who ellie carpenter patrie was there beth mead was there and i was like it was the place to be do you know who else was there go over there we were there together but it just do you know like you're like did I die did I die and like this is where I've woken up in like this kind of like WSL legends like OGs kind of this is the waiting room just like global player forum that I've

5:47Chloe: accidentally found myself in is Bromley Bromley is Purgatory with all the big stars it was absolutely

5:54Rachel: crazy and credit to London City for getting stars like that down obviously lovely they came to watch the game it was such a good game for them to come down to as well but we'll get stuck into that shortly because we have to talk about Chelsea and what happened with Arsenal um great game wasn't it Arsenal 2-0 um yeah I mean it was it was a game and a half obviously dealing a huge blow to Chelsea's title hopes in what was their first ever defeat at Stamford Bridge in the WSL I had not realized that that's crazy that's a massive scalp in itself what a massive accolade there um it did look a little bit classic Arsenal in that first half but then they obviously got two goals in quick succession early in the second half.

6:35Rachel: To be fair

6:35Chloe: it was classic Arsenal. They've turned up and beat Chelsea at home and it's like great you're still third. Yeah. It's like I think go on. Rene afterwards was kind of saying you know when the moment is there for this team when it really really really has to happen they do it every single time and so there's a lot of strength in this team in those moments and Susie Rack was kind of saying like the ability is great but it's also a little damning five draws this season have already done the damage of practically ruling Arsenal out of the title race and I like yes it was a really big win they played great they showed what they could do but then you know if you're an Arsenal fan you're going where the fuck was that last week in the midweek when we were playing Manchester United and the week before and the whole of the first half of the season like yeah I mean I get saying that like after the Champions League final when you're like backs against it playing the best team one of the best teams in the world and you know you come out and you do that and it's like yeah obviously win the Champions League.

7:32Chloe: But yeah, you know, it was just quite a funny statement when it really, really, really matters. It's like...

7:36Rachel: I mean, the result and the implications now. So obviously there's a nine point gap between Man City and Chelsea, which is absolutely huge. That's such a massive goal. We haven't seen a goal like that in... For a while. Yeah, for a very long time. And obviously Chelsea have kind of had this, you know, the BBC calling it an air of invincibility around them and that being evaporated. Yeah, I mean, do you think... Because I'm always hesitant with Chelsea because there's something about them that you never quite think, even when the odds are stacked against them incredibly high and there's a huge mountain to climb, you always think there's something that might just happen.

8:13Chloe: Yeah, but, you know, it's not just going to come down to if Chelsea do great and win every game to the end of the season. They have to do that. But Manchester City have to slip up as well. So that's the difficulty, is that it's not just within a result. It's not just if we beat City, we're back in it. They have to rely on Manchester City slipping up along the way too. Which is interesting. That could happen because Manchester City have Chelsea and Arsenal. Should Chelsea and Arsenal win, that's a big should, particularly with respect to Arsenal because you never really know. But Chelsea obviously beat them in the League Cup semifinals and have beaten Man City at the beginning of the season as well.

8:50Chloe: That would reduce the deficit to three points, which would definitely make things a little bit more interesting. But again, a lot needs to happen in those situations. But look, it's football.

9:01Rachel: As a Chelsea fan, if you're listening to this podcast, let us know what you're thinking and feeling right now. Do you still feel like there's hope? Do you still feel like there's a semblance of a door, a tiny, tiny door and a tiny crack being left open? Or have you actually kind of given up and you're just like, well, there's other trophies this year that we might win? That's true. Yeah, like it's not going to be a silverless year, maybe. Maybe we just focus our efforts and energy on that instead. And you got a lot last year. Yeah, you were quite greedy. Yeah, you were quite successful. So, you know, I don't think it's a bad thing to let someone else, not even let, but just it is what it is.

9:39Rachel: It's happened. Let's get stuck into the actual game itself then and how this unfolded. Obviously, so much discussion around Beth Mead scoring her first league goal of the season and her 10th career goal against Chelsea. I hadn't realised that was her first league goal of the season because she has scored in other competitions I think it's that you just kind of associate she's just had quite a fairly good season of scoring then obviously got the assist just minutes later passing the ball to Mariana Caldente who had what can only be described as like a Coronation Street episode worth of time to take the ball to wrong foot I'd have got extenders and it was a real like once she scored it was like an omnibus as well no less but it kind of felt like Mariona got the ball edge of the box so much space and Amy Germer runs across almost like she's going to I don't know take a corner or something kind of like almost exit exits the other side of the box she's coming at it at such speed gets completely wrong footed Mariona then the placement the kind of whipping of that ball in that bottom right hand corner so high for Hannah Hampton to see wasn't it because she had so many defenders in front of her and it was like absolutely no chance and the placement was like just on the it was like an inch in from the post as well it was amazing do you know what

10:50Chloe: both goals I think were very pretty goals so like you you go back to Alessia Russo's pass for Beth Mead you know she had two options she had Blaxenius as well but no she threaded that pass into Beth Mead and it was a classic Beth Mead finish um and then for Beth Mead's assist for Caldente again she kind of wrong-footed the defender fainted to go one way cut back inside sent a ball straight across to Caldente he was so it was just like really like some really nice game intelligence in those bits of movement and then both were really lovely finishes.

11:21Rachel: Definitely.

11:21Chloe: And at the end that their fans were at as well.

11:23Rachel: Great execution. And then off the back of that, I think Beth Mead being so pivotal to those two goals, a lot of people have been talking because I think, you know, Beth Mead is obviously an older, more senior player. There's been, you know, she's not always made the starting 11. You know, there's been a lot of discussion around sort of whether... She is heavily criticised. Yes. Yes, she is. Yeah, I think that's a... Unfairly so, in my opinion. A very fair way to say it. And I think, does it feel like we've got a really good question in from Giori on Instagram I really hope I've said that well but let me know how and Mead is back does this affect her next contract

11:56Chloe: well firstly I wouldn't say she's back I think she's had a good season thus far like this isn't just an out of the blue performance I actually think she's been performing pretty well it's just that there is a section of fans and non-fans that focus a lot on her and any time that she's not absolutely perfect she's absolutely rinsed compared to other players. I think she's been quite key in Arsenal's games thus far. And I think, you know, comparisons between her and Smith, I think are kind of redundant because they are quite different wingers. And she does offer a lot. And she showed in that game what she offers both from a defensive perspective, from her link of play with Emily Fox.

12:37I think tactically, Arsenal got it spot on.

12:41Chloe: They were able to kind of overload the midfield a little bit because Chelsea were playing a back three. You would see Meade or Fox or McCabe at times invert and be that extra player in midfield, which Chelsea were ultimately lacking because they had three at the back. So that was working quite nicely for them. And I think she showed a lot of her qualities as a player. And people may think I bang on about Beth Meade a lot. It's purely because it really irritates me, the amount of abuse she gets, particularly from Arsenal fans. And I think, yeah, she had a super game and I do think that game was coming for her and she does have a thing about scoring against Chelsea.

13:18Chloe: She seems to really enjoy it.

13:19Rachel: Definitely. I mean, I was quite lucky. We did a little campaign with her back in November and we sat her down and sort of talked about the changing role that she had with the Lionesses and kind of how she'd had these conversations with Serena around her being part of the starting XI, being such a massive part of the Euros campaigns and sort of how that role was kind of naturally changing as she was getting older and all these bloody whippersnappers were coming in and how she felt really at peace with that, how she kind of felt like she knew her place in the squad she knew what the impact that she could have and maybe that wasn't always a starting player but it was the experience that she bought it was the cool calm confidence it was the you know being able to step up in those big game moments so 100 % like she's such a valuable and I respect that for a player as well to have that to acknowledge

13:59Chloe: that to be like yeah okay I recognize that my role is going to change that I may be coming off the bench to be an impact player but I know what I can bring to the squad and I know how this squad works and how it can be important and I I rate that as a kind of a team player willing to do whatever is needed for you think back to the euros and she was playing midfield yeah with lucy bronze like having to tell her where to go because she hadn't played that position so i really rate that as a player um and i just think yeah she was able to show what she can do for the squad which um was quite a lot at the weekend she's emotionally intelligent um and i'm glad that game intelligent

14:32Rachel: as well that would have been throwing you off entirely two legends is is that starts to look like some kind of i don't know like you're a stalker yeah it's a bit weird doesn't it um you mentioned there's some of the sort of vulnerabilities that you saw with Chelsea particularly with the back line I mean we both were talking about this just before the pod started about the sort of the three at the back and sometimes how narrow they felt and sometimes how they're allowing Arsenal these kind of blind runs essentially there was a lot of ball watching for me that I just didn't that felt kind of just really out of character I think for Chelsea but um yeah I mean what was your take because there was a couple of issues as well Naomi Girma just seemed like a bit of a weak link in this particular game there was a couple of sort of mistakes that kind of led to one-on-one situations.

15:11Rachel: Again, the Mariona Keldenti goal, that was kind of, she just rushed in. It kind of felt a bit panicky, really, with the back line.

15:18Chloe: I thought it was interesting, tactically, as you say, Chelsea went with the back line. I think they were relying on getting the ball up to the likes of Elissa Thompson to be able to run at that Arsenal back line with her speed because, with respect, Arsenal's back line, central pairing aren't super quick. But actually, I thought they dealt with her really, really well because when the ball did end up coming over to Thompson, Lotto Wobbenmoy was very good at shepherding her out wide to kind of limit the danger and the impact, giving time for the rest of the squad to come back and support, which I thought they did quite well.

15:48Chloe: And I also think then Arsenal being able to have those extra bodies in midfield allowed them to press Chelsea quite high. They were winning the ball back higher up the pitch, which I think they were able to then be much more effective with that extra player essentially in midfield. They could move it a lot quicker. And there was a tenacity to win the ball back very, very quickly. They weren't allowing Chelsea a lot of possession at all. Yeah. and I you know I think as you said in the first half you kind of thought oh okay they've started really well but they've not taken their chances it's going to be the same kind of story again but the way they came out in the second half with that intensity again and capitalizing on it was really impressive and I do think the fact that Chelsea come to play Chelsea come out and come out at you Arsenal effectively can do better against a team like that because there is a bit more space to play as opposed to coming up against a team who are sitting back a bit more and trying to block off those spaces for you to operate in i think they were able to find a lot of space to

16:39Rachel: operate in against chelsea definitely i think um well now obviously given this result and where chelsea stand in relation to to man city and the fact that chelsea have now lost two of their last four wsl games which is feels like um i mean it's a wild world and this just this just kind of fits into the madness of everything that's kind of going on the chaos um but obviously questions are now being asked about Sonia Pompasta and two games. It's, yeah, you can see because obviously Chelsea fans, Chelsea as a club, have been used to such a prolific level of success over the past five, six, seven, eight, nine years.

17:17Rachel: The silverware cabinets, the trophies they've won. Yeah, the reinforced floors that we keep talking about. And then obviously they find a year that things aren't going to plan. It looks like by January their title hopes are pretty much in tatters bar something quite extraordinary happening with Man City. Questions are being asked. And we do have a really good question in from YakuzaRage2301 on YouTube. That's a great name. It's a very gamer name. I'm going to say you're a gamer. Is Sonia Bompassa losing the plot with her tactics and player selection or is it the performance of the players being selected that's costing Chelsea important points?

17:53Rachel: Also, before we answer, thanks in advance, guys. Been following you for a few years but never commented or asked questions until now. Well, now you have to because we'll read them out. Really, really appreciate that. Thank you for submitting your first question.

18:03Chloe: And here's to many, many more. And I wouldn't say losing the plot. I think that's a little OTT. You know, I think I know Chelsea have been so dominant over the years, but not always performing absolutely top notch. They've always had that ability to win at all costs, even when they haven't been playing especially well. You know, you look back at some of the games they dropped points in that Everton game. Like, Jesus Christ, they had the tactics right. they were getting in they were creating shots they were putting Courtney Brosnan to work the ball just would not go in the back of the net and it's annoying but sometimes that happens and I mean just ask Arsenal so I wouldn't go as far as to say she's losing the plot tactically but there are games that she's struggled in managers are going to struggle managers are going to get out-tacticked every now and then I think back to that Subway League Cup when Arsenal won 3-0 against Chelsea and it was a complete tactical masterclass from Idavel I think it was at the time when you think about it I think Rene got the tactics spot on however those tactics were super risky as well they had a thin bench i think they had seven on the bench two of them were goalkeepers they played russo and blackstenius they started russo and blackstenius if that wasn't working there was no plan b on the bench you know phloe kelly was injured freedom on him was um out with a i think potential concussion like a number of key players not there that could have gone the other way but tactically she got it spot on and it worked that is going to happen especially when you come up against top team so I wouldn't overly panic I know I've seen a lot of kind of very stressed Chelsea fans because you're not winning absolutely every single game um but I would just say look these things are going to happen it's the same thing happened the Lionesses right like they went and won stuff and then other teams improved they've set a benchmark now for people to improve themselves by you know they're the ones they're going to try and tactically outdo people are getting better tactically these things are going to happen I wouldn't stress too much that's all I'd say but yes she is going to get stuff tactically wrong and i know that is frustrating when you've got the quality in that

19:57Rachel: team also like look at the yes the wsl title probably looks like it's out of reach but there are so there's so much other silverware still on the table for this team i mean you see a world in which chelsea win the champions league i mean and then everyone just shuts up and sonia bonpaso is the biggest hero since renee um right let's talk a little bit about the other shade of blue looking to actually take the title.

20:22Chloe: These are like two slightly different shades of blue playing each other.

20:25Rachel: Yes. There's like the fluorescent, the light, and the dark blue. Yeah, teal kind of. I don't know what to say. And then Everton in and around the dark blue range as well. Anyway, we digress. Obviously, the pressure of leading the pack doesn't seem to be getting to City. It looked like they might have to settle for a draw against London City lionesses. And then Bonnie Shaw, who bloody else, scores the winner in the 86 minutes. But let's give a little bit of time and attention to this game. We were both there. And as well as being completely starstruck by the rest of the global superstars, this was a really, really great game to watch.

21:04Rachel: The atmosphere was amazing. 3 ,400 fans. You had the brass band popping off. Really good Man City contingent in the far right corner as well. Loads of fans around. Just like a really great vibe despite being a bit of a miserable day.

21:17Chloe: I enjoy the brass band, by the way. I know people are, some love it, some hate it. But as brass bands go, compared to the ones we've experienced at other games, they were excellent. They were playing some absolute bangers. And they were very good at their craft. They were very good musicians as well, which really made it.

21:32Rachel: Weren't they just? Sassy Brass? I think that's what it was. Yeah, shout out to them for bringing the absolute vibes on the day. Some top bangers. Spice Girls. 70 minutes into a game. Yeah, obviously Sweet Caroline's in there. Must do. That's so funny though.

21:44Chloe: You imagine like you're losing a game and you're just like. corner we're like running down the wing it's like stop right now look thank you very much did it work

21:54Rachel: kind of um yeah i mean the first half was very very tetchy i think it was so evenly balanced as a game people were expecting man city to go into this game full of confidence like one knowing what the impact would be on the title being able to get that nine point difference between them and chelsea obviously london city lionesses towards the back end of last season at least have kind of been a little bit up and down new managers come in people weren't too sure what to expect but London City put in one of the best performances I've seen them play in the WSL this year

22:24Chloe: yes now I do think Man City started well I thought they looked really good in the first half I thought their movement of the kind of midfield and front players is just like incredible so quick quick passes one two finding each other through balls all that kind of stuff is wonderful I think they struggled actually finishing the chances they created and London City look good on the break they look dangerous on the break they hit the post the woodwork anyway second half though I thought even you know Man City went in ahead Carolyn scoring that goal she was an absolute nightmare for the back line I think for Poppy Pattinson but second half I thought London City had a really good spell they deserved the goal that they got arguably could have scored more hit the post again forcing good saves out of Yamashita so I actually thought they maybe concerned City a little bit when it got back to level terms and you thought actually they could potentially snatch one here.

23:18Chloe: But I think what I noticed about City was quite a... Which one? Sorry, about Manchester City. God, it's going to be so annoying. City was a calmness about them. Like, they never looked too frazzled or panicked. They kind of had this belief about them that we just have to keep going forward. We have the quality once we get the ball up, you know, to do something with it. I thought London City did a really good job of kind of double teaming any time the likes of Hemp or Bunny got the ball. anytime players were kind of up in their final third they were really good at getting bodies around them and limiting space you know Lauren Hemp kind of didn't have as much freedom to whip in those balls and so I thought they did a really good job of that but I just just felt like City Manchester City were always gonna get that goal no matter how close to the final whistle it got they just had that belief and I do think that's a mentality shift and a good sign of a team that are leading the pack they need that mentality that even if it's not all going their way that they're going to be able to get it over the line.

24:16Chloe: And I loved the headline in the Guardian's talking points. Tom Gary wrote the talking point for this game. And the headline was, Are Manchester City a Shaw Thing for the title?

24:25Rachel: Ooh. Very nice. Gold. Absolute gold. Do you know, I felt a little bit differently about the outcome of this game. I really thought, given how London City had played and how many chances they'd had, that actually they might score the winner and that it was going to be a bit of an upset. Could you imagine? For Man City. and the crowd obviously would have been, I mean, they would have absolutely exploded. But I felt like there were definitely moments in the game where London City could have, I mean, they could have dominated.

24:52Chloe: They created 12 with three on target, which was pretty good to Manchester City's 15 with four on target.

24:59Rachel: Definitely. And you've got to give a massive, massive shout out. I mean, Izzy Goodwin and Godfrey were absolutely incredible. There was a couple of chances there. I think it was Izzy Goodwin who kind of, one of them in particular, sort of driving into the box one-on-one with Yamashita and then just kind of stopping. and then I don't know whether she was trying to set it back or she was trying to look for someone else or what was really happening, waiting for the cavalry maybe to arrive because I did think there were definitely points in the game where London City didn't commit enough players forward.

25:22Rachel: And I think that's because they were trying to manage with that quality and they were double teaming and Sydney was like, shut, we're at the other end of the pitch, go. I think it's that it's a risk because there were patches in the game where it became so transitional that I could understand why both teams didn't want to commit boys forward. But London City was so potent in their attacks when they had people who were driving forward with them. So, yeah, really impressed with Corrala's good win, Godfrey. I thought they were absolutely amazing when they kind of, yeah, they hunted in packs. And that's how the majority of the chances were created.

25:50Rachel: But, yeah, obviously got to give a massive shout out to Bonnie Shaw doing her Bonnie Shaw thing. Because she did have a couple of chances in the game that kind of either went wide or a foot over the post. And I was thinking maybe this could be one of these days. And then obviously, I think it was a 75th WSL goal as well. I will double check that. And it just happened to be over in the Man City fan section as well. She jumped about 10 feet in the air.

26:15Chloe: And then went the other way to where I was. Yes.

26:18Rachel: Yes. And then obviously you've got Man City kind of just exercising a lot of the time, wasting dark arts, pretty much just running it into the corner to loads of booze from London City. But it's game management. You've got to do what you've got to do.

26:29Chloe: They had 15 corners, Chloe. I think two of them maybe went over the first player.

26:37Rachel: yeah it was definitely a it was definitely an issue it was 100 an issue you've got Sean who's

26:43Chloe: quite tall you've got Knack in there yeah Miedema's not bowed to their head like you've got some good players in there to be getting the ball to aerial threats and it just was not happening for whatever reason it was not happening it's definitely something you reflect back on after

26:55Rachel: the game and say like that's that's just not good enough like you can't blame the pitch the pitch was spots like spotless it was yeah there wasn't there wasn't like the wind wasn't you know there There wasn't any factor that you can kind of look and say, yeah, they were just bad. For Chelsea to have any hope now at retaining the title, they need to be Man City on Sunday. And then hope other people beat Man City. Yeah. And then win the rest of their games. Yeah. There's a lot of ifs and buts on the end of this one. But yeah, looking forward to Sunday in a big, big way. That is going to be an absolute...

27:24Rachel: I mean, that's... Yeah. That fixture always delivers anyway. Oh, God. Yeah. I feel nervous about it. and I'm not in particularly you know I don't have skin in the game for either one of those teams but if Man City win that that's another three points ahead of Chelsea it's never the league has never been that wide wild that is I don't understand and it's good now I suppose because in a way I do also support Man City so looks like we could we could win the title this year you know fuck off coming up after this big wins for West Ham and Liverpool

28:29We'll be right back. Listen wherever you get your podcasts and watch the full episodes on YouTube.

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29:54Chloe: Upfront payment of$45 for three-month plan, equivalent to$15 per month required. Intro rate first three months only, then full price plan options available. Taxes and fees extra. Default terms at mintmobile.com.

30:14Rachel: The relegation battle continues. It looked like Liverpool were heading towards their second 0-0 WSL draw in a row before scoring two in stoppage time, seconds apart to beat Spurs 2-0. One goal in the 94th minute and one goal in the 95th minute. It looked to me, and thank you for flagging this, it looked to me like it was two mere enderby goals, but the first was ultimately given as an own goal. Yeah, but you can totally credit her with it. She was the reason that ball went in. Absolutely. 100%. She was so spicy, so tenacious.

30:48Chloe: She came on the 84th minute and then did that. I mean you can't ask for much more can you from a substitute in terms of impact I will say it's not really a relegation battle it's like that kind of playoff battle and what has now ultimately happened is two teams have been dragged down into it and it's become a four team a four horse race Chloe do you remember that little analogy we ran to death a couple of seasons ago I enjoyed that let's bring that back back again I tell you what when I was watching that game and I got to the 19th minute I was just like I don't know what Liverpool have to do to win a game I'd just be like Gareth Taylor must have been on the sidelines going how do you keep going back to team being like played great really could have won that game didn't fucking win the game and I don't know what I even I would have done but they hit the woodwork three times yep they had let me tell you early doors as well 18 shots only five are on target compared to Spurs whose creativity was pretty lacking in that game they had five shots one on target I thought they actually really struggled to implement themselves on the game they just seemed to be forcibly forced to kind of react to how Liverpool wanted to play.

31:48Chloe: So I thought they really struggled. I thought Liverpool were worthy winners of that game. And I want to shout out Chillag. Is that how you pronounce? Yeah. She was. I was going to do the same thing. So good, man. Like what a signing. I'd be so excited by as Gareth Taylor. She was unbelievable. What a thorn in that Tottenham side she was. Her hold of play, you know, her protecting the ball, her directness, her speed. She was unlucky not to get a goal. She is an absolute quality signing. I thought she did really well Denise O'Sullivan I've got someone Schillag though completely under my radar really up until this game yeah well she's only that was her first game it was her debut game but as a player just generally like I just yeah and they've got one or two players still new players still to make their debut as well so giving them a little bit of depth but yeah I thought they were very worthy of their win and Gareth Taylor's face after the goals looked like you know oh my god 100 % he looked so happy and then the second one went in he didn't know what to do but yeah I think they deserved it and I think winning in the manner they did will give them obviously give them confidence but it will tell them like we keep going until that final whistle sounds cliche but we can get those goals even if it is literally they scored in the 93 and 40 seconds of 94 minutes or something like that which is ridiculous so to get that goal and then I really do feel for assuming in the slip you know there was nothing you could do you know shit happens but equally the way Ndaby just pounced and the composure to finish it as well yeah that will give them a real boost the

33:20Rachel: worst thing about moments like that though for swimming and the slips is like i remember so many games like where i don't know something like that would happen especially as a goalkeeper obviously it's like quite traumatic because generally speaking it results in a goal um but i remember so many situations that the manager would just like have an absolute go at me because like i'd either worn the wrong boot or did you wear your little slippers again because you will slip if you don't wear your studs i'd i'd worn my i don't know like the flip-flops i told you and i was like bearing in mind i was playing in an era where pitches weren't a priority for most teams and like a muddy puddle sorry about that i just struck a divot i struck a dead rat you know i just like it is you're playing at the hive again if you play at the hive you will hit those rats The amount of times I've got a bollocking for things like that.

34:09Rachel: So thoughts and prayers to Sumanan.

34:10Chloe: To be fair to Sumanan, at least it wasn't the first goal.

34:14Rachel: Yeah. Our game was already gone.

34:15Chloe: I was going to say, there was very little chance of Spurs bringing it back in in like 30 seconds to go. And Martin Hull made a beeline for her at the end. You could tell he was, you know. Gutted. No, he kind of went up to his head up kind of thing.

34:25Rachel: Yeah, for sure. But I've got to agree with you in terms of sort of how spicy Liverpool looked. It looked like a team who felt that they could go on and win this thing. and there were so many early chances for them early warning signs as well for spurs to get their shit together i mean i was trying to record like when the chances were happening in the second minute in the seventh minute in the 16th minute and then 50 minutes in you've got the 1v1 with gawpsett and that that great save from from folk as well they started so well so then to come away

34:51Chloe: with it in the end i think was yeah really fair result now i will say liverpool i think have in their next three games they have manchester united and chelsea which is an ideal but um in their next four games they have Aston Villa and Leicester so they'll definitely be on that Leicester one will be interesting I think the fact that they've you know more teams have been pulled into it gives them it's less about West Ham now definitely you know what I mean like now there's more teams that they can think if we can win there suddenly we're pulling ourselves up the table well

35:17Rachel: there's only two points essentially between um ninth place Leicester City on nine and then you've got Everton on eight points West Ham on eight points and Liverpool on seven so two points

35:26Chloe: separate and Liverpool still have to play I think Leicester West Ham and Everton so yeah it's it's

35:32Rachel: looking very very spicy now in that relegation battle it looked like a two-horse race essentially at one point and now do you think that last game of the season between Everton and Leicester could could mean something probably um god I love I do love a relegation battle though I do love it we don't fucking have one well there's you know essentially there's no there's no drama at the

35:54Chloe: top of the table. Well, that playoff is going to be interesting, that playoff match. And I know, realistically, the bottom WSL team should beat the third place WSL 2 team, but the way some of these teams are playing, it's essentially a cup game. It's a free-for-all. Anything can happen.

36:08Rachel: Well, Liverpool now, just one point, like you said, behind West Ham and Everton above them.

36:12Chloe: Sorry, it doesn't surprise me that West Ham also won because, as I said, these two fucking teams will not be separated. What is wrong with you? Stop mirroring each other's results. Leave each other alone. I can just imagine them right if the two of them escaped just like hand in hand skipping off into the sunset being like we did it guys we always said if we stayed together we'd avoid it we're both in the championship great

36:37Chloe: we don't know how that happened there was only meant to be one team but somehow they're both here

36:42Rachel: together again for this one both of West Ham's goals were absolute beauties in the first half a handshore free kick from 25 yards out then an edge of the box bullet from Shakira Martinez. Absolutely love this kid in the second half. Debutant Alicia Lehman was brought on in the 64th minute and looked at first to have scored Leicester's goal, but it was actually Eve Nystrom who put it into her own net. To be fair, that one wasn't as close as the Mie NB one. Like once you watch the replay, you're like, oh no, yeah, she didn't touch it. But yeah, West Ham then sort of obviously surviving a flurry of late pressure.

37:18Rachel: I don't know if you saw

37:19Chloe: Shemek save it with the last kick of the game.

37:22Rachel: I haven't actually.

37:23Chloe: She had to, you should look at the highlights. She had to reverse back and like claw it out of her net. She actually did herself a bit of a mischief. She ended up in a heap. I hope she's okay because they had to bring on a lot of medical staff afterwards because she landed quite heavily. But she literally clawed the ball and it would have been such a West Ham thing to do to concede with the last kick of the game. It's pretty much what they did the last time they played Leicester. But she kept her side in it and made sure they got the three points because they were playing quite like West Ham and that they were quite happy to try and absorb some of Leicester's pressure.

37:53Chloe: I think Leicester will be quite frustrated if they didn't get something out of it.

37:55Rachel: I do love a clawed out goal. You know, I think it's, your footwork has to be absolutely bang on to read the ball and the flight of the ball and trajectory. So credit to her. But also, yeah, like obviously they're very, I remember doing that once when I was playing, I think it was Liverpool v Arsenal and I fell backwards, landed on my head, like going backwards, because your arm's propelling you forwards and your head's going backwards. So yeah, they're very dangerous saves to make.

38:19Chloe: Would you like to do a live viewing of said, said, um, is it going to make me wince? No, you're going to be super impressed. So this is, this is a live viewing of the final like chance here. So hold on, here we go. This was like literally, doesn't it give you, I said this on our pod. It gives me reminisce, not quite the same as Anne Katrin Berger, but having to come off her own player's head and get backwards and get a hand to it um to keep it out because that was literally that was cleared and that whistle was the last

38:52Rachel: whistle it's also the core strength that you need as a keeper when you're the momentum of shifting you backwards and you're having to push your hand forward and the ball it's not even just like a lofted ball it's actually coming you're not tipping it over you're changing the trajectory of the ball 100 absolutely credit to it that was yeah that should be up for the um save of the month british gas save of the month isn't it now something something like that i'm losing track of all these commercial deals. Coming up after this, we look forward to Arsenal appearing in a new competition, the Champions Cup.

39:28Chloe: The names of these competitions are so funny. It's sort of like a variation of different words, isn't it? The Cup of Champions, the World Champions Cup, the World Cup Champions, the Cup of World Cups. What would you have called it? I don't know.

39:39Rachel: Extravaganza of incredible teams. Did they also believe Cup?

39:48Love it.

39:49Rachel: It's more gender fluid, for sure. Talking of the Champions Cup, the actual name of this very official and first time round competition introduced by FIFA. Arsenal Champions of Europe will be taken on Moroccan side as far. As far. Is it though? Because I've heard two different counts of thoughts. Who the fuck's been saying as far? Yep. No, just saying. As far as what? Morocco? Right, Nana. Well, you made the poor mispronouncement. Go on, tell us what it means. ASFAR stands for the Sports Association of the Royal Armed Forces. There you go. That's a side I would not want to take on. The other semi-final will be played on the same day at the same ground.

40:28Rachel: So that will be Gotham FC, the North American champions versus SC Corinthians, South America champions. And that kicks off at 12.30pm. with Arsenal versus ASFAR then kicking off at 6pm.

40:42Chloe: They've basically made these two separate games as opposed to, I think, making it like a dual ticket. Like, say, the She Believes Cup because I think they were more concerned about relying on people coming early for the first game if they were coming to the second game. So they've split it so that people can... They're standalone fixtures, essentially. But I still think 12.30 on a Wednesday is going to be difficult.

41:04Rachel: That is the thing that I have the most concern about. I think this is a new competition and obviously as we all know we've seen you know new competitions pop up world sevens etc etc um when you're trying to build a new fan base essentially out of nowhere for people to come and watch these tournaments one 100 Brentford absolutely love the stadium love what they do as a club um I think they have quite a good uh standing in the space they kind of get you know inclusivity and diversity and things like that so I actually rate them as a club um but in terms of like the transport network in terms of trying to like build that fan base in terms of trying to get people who aren't at work um like even 6 pms early yeah but apparently

41:41Chloe: they're trying to not clash with men's football or something i would have just gone for a 7 30 you know if not later kickoff i probably would have gone for a double ticket i think that makes sense and then had a later kickoff for the second one but you know i'm sure these are lessons they'll

41:55Rachel: learn they'll see how they get on 100 and i think um i mean the what i'm hearing is the massive focus i think for the 12 30 game is essentially making more of a community community based thing so trying to get sort of schools involved brownies scouts but won't they be at school they will be um so it really does depend on whether you've got a school who is willing to take a more flexible view on your education let's all schedule p at 12 30 yeah essentially but even

42:19Chloe: the final on the sunday which is really annoying i'm sorry i know it's difficult and these things tend to get put into the schedule whether you like it or not but having it on the same day as Chelsea Manchester City is so annoying like it's a shame that game couldn't have got moved to the Saturday or something because that is like one of the biggest games of the season and I don't think there's any games on the Saturday it's just a shame to you know essentially then have that competing I guess we'll get to watch it in the press room before well I think

42:49Rachel: it's that it's the kind of the cannibalization essentially of two what could be quite very well two amazing games essentially obviously we don't know the finalists yet I think a lot of people are thinking it will probably be Gotham versus Arsenal and I don't say that with any disrespect to the other teams at all you never know that's what people are hoping for I think

43:07Chloe: Gotham have been taking this very seriously they've been in a little camp

43:11Rachel: and Arsenal apparently want to get another trophy so and it's quite a nice trophy back against the wall there is it's golden wear this one so it's not silver wear it's a gold trophy it's like it looks like it's like i don't know been built is it like a goldmine it's like kind of like a

43:30Chloe: peace award or something that you just randomly give to people who are having a tantrum no you

43:33Rachel: no no don't make it political that is that's absolutely that's a fake award i don't even on this pod because that gives me the absolute fucking chills um yes it could be quite a nice thing to pick up and sort of allay some of these you know conversations about our oh yeah our fans

43:49Chloe: be delighted they'd be like well at least we won that so the rest of the season can go and shite because we've got the inaugural FIFA Champions Cup.

43:54Rachel: The best thing about having this fucking trophy, though, is that you can say that you are the winners of the world, essentially. Like, you've won world football. In two games. Yeah, so fuck your Champions League. Fuck your league title. You're actually world winners. And, like, where do you go from there? You just retire. You give the players the rest of the season off. Yeah, job done. It is what it is. Plus, you will obviously bank£1.7 million of money. it will be the largest ever single award in women's club football. The runners will get, the runners up will get, sorry, £735 ,000. And the losing semifinalists will get£147 ,000.

44:32Rachel: So, lovely, big night out in London. I was going to say, regardless of like what really happens, you're coming away with a sizable sub here. But yeah, and I was obviously being sort of a bit of narrative, a bit of discourse around Michelle Kang and her company, canesca who are the sort of multi-club ownership uh company that that run um leon that run washington spirit and also london city lionesses canesca are the headline partner of um of this competition um there's a really good article from tom gary kind of talking about the impacts of that and the possible conflicts that that has um in terms of a yeah a multi-club ownership model who's kind of taken over the main headline sponsor of a major tournament, one that they maybe could be a part of in the next few years or so.

45:23Rachel: Worth pointing out, it is a single-year partnership at the moment. Yes, it is. But a lot of people, obviously, I mean, a lot of people have a big respect for Canisca. They obviously do quite a lot of philanthropic work. They have invested in kind of, there was a Kang Women's Institute, the design to accelerate advancements in the women's game through science and innovation and she does kind of you know she obviously really cares about football but she's also got a very strong business head you know she's not making these decisions to invest in these clubs because of a CSR situation she's making them because she sees them as profitable entities that will obviously really double in value triple in value and more although she did give money to the US

46:03Chloe: rugby team didn't she 100 % without any expectation of return on investment and also the end

46:09Rachel: WSL as well there's been some good money plowed into them but yeah it does kind of raise a question I suppose about the impartiality of someone like FIFA choosing to partner with Canesca who is associated to one of the clubs but like you said I think there is a bit of a stopgap there that it

46:24Chloe: is just that yeah but it's you know highlighting what could be an issue much like how the issue of multi-club ownership is constantly highlighted and it's on the organizations who allow these loopholes to exist for sure to close said loopholes and they're not doing it it's like they're almost waiting for the problem to come and then going oh gosh what are we going to do as if like no one told you this was going to happen so it's just another kind of like example of potential conflicts of interest that people need to be aware of and i know it's difficult and like there's not a lot of money in the women's game and you know we've seen where fifa are happy to take money from so not that it shouldn't be a surprise but to expect them to maybe do a little bit more lateral thinking when it comes to something like that and the issues it could pose is maybe expecting too much but essentially it is on these organizations to close definitely polls like for multi-club ownership and stuff well essentially i think because they

47:19Rachel: are new tournaments they're still trying to figure out for themselves but for me if i was working at fifa in the commercial department the brand partnerships department my priority would be going out to a brand essentially you know a coca-cola or a british gas or a mercedes or something like that and kind of it just then it gets rid of the sort of questions that could be asked about the association with the clubs um what i do think is gonna probably start to be looked at a little bit more heavily especially with wsl football taken over from the fa and trying to sort of figure out and navigate this new space is like financial regulation in the women's game um there are some there's some regulation but i think like new and novel kind of things and like new tournaments that are popping up new multi-club ownership models um it is going to get a little bit murkier so i think um i wouldn't be surprised if there's more

48:04Chloe: scrutiny on on things like this for sure do you think we're going to start seeing things like they have in the in the us where they like corners sponsored by asda yellow cards sponsored by o'dwyer's funeral directors there's something down the road you know the way and then they call them out it's really awkward because they they read out it gets the yellow card and i can totally imagine them being like our latest uh sponsors for cards is blah do you think that's

48:30Rachel: going to come into the game no good um i don't have that concern only because i mean if the premier league aren't doing it the wsl would be absolutely wild to start something like that can you imagine yeah i can that's why i asked you no no that is like i don't want it to be by the way

48:46Chloe: like that's an abomination um also for who would sponsor corners like who would sponsor bookings

48:52Rachel: like i was gonna say a really good brand give us your funniest um suggestions for what brands could sponsor things like penalty kicks or corners or free kicks or great saves i'd love to hear

49:03Chloe: some of the uh like penalties could be like an insurance company or something i like corners i don't know like a picture frame mitigate the risk with aviva yeah yeah penalties penalty yeah yeah Yeah, I think it'd be yellow cards. Maybe like... Don't, because you've spoken it into existence. Maybe like some card company. You might not want this card, but your mum will definitely want this one for her birthday. Sponsored by...

49:25Rachel: Scribbler.

49:26Chloe: Yeah. There you go. You've got your strategy for the next season.

49:32Rachel: Oh, mate. Well, send us in your suggestions. We'll definitely read those out on next week's show. But for now, we're really looking forward to it. You're obviously going to go down there. I'm going to watch it from my TV. No box, no. Not this time. Not this time. Yeah, Brentford's just a... You just gave them a glowing review. It's a train too far for me.

49:52Chloe: It is quite an exposed stadium, so I really hope it stops raining.

49:55Rachel: But yeah, I might make it down to the Emirates, actually, for the final.

49:58Chloe: That's a more comfortable place for you, isn't it?

49:59Rachel: 100 % to see my other team compete. Your other, other, other team. Or I could see the other team compete, I suppose. It's hard to know when you just support everybody. Thank you so much for listening to Upfront. Join us next week for more from the WSL and this wild January transfer window. In the meantime, you can find us on Instagram and x slash Twitter. I'm at morgy underscore 89. Rach is at girls on the ball and we are at upfront underscore pod. You can also find us on YouTube at upfront pod. See you next week.

50:37Upfront is a stack production and part of the Acast Creator Network.

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