WSL top 3 and UWCL qualification could come down to goal difference by Michelle
Arsenal Women’s dreams of reaching, and maybe winning, the UEFA Women’s Champions League Final in Eindhoven, were cruelly crushed on 1st May Bank Holiday. Arsenal Women made history, selling out the Emirates for the first time, with an officially recorded attendance of 60,067 – the highest attendance for a club game in the UK and the highest UK attendance record for a Women’s Champions League match.
Our Gunners are hurting after a Wolfsburg goal in the final minutes of extra-time, cruelly snatched their Champions League dream from them, but now it’s time to look ahead and concentrate on securing their place in the Women’s Super League top 3, to ensure Champions League qualification for next season..
Man City are chasing as many goals as possible in case the WSL top 3 is decided on goal difference, which is a very realistic possibility give how close the top 4 teams are on points, with Man City manager Gareth Taylor telling the BBC:
“It’s been on our minds – there’s no doubt about that,” said Taylor, whose team have been scoring a lot, particularly in their last two games, to close the gap on rivals Chelsea and Arsenal’s goal differences, although United remain 13-goals ahead of their Manchester rivals.
“In our last two games, we’ve scored 10 and given away three. The stats are showing that we’re creating and scoring. We want to score more. Everybody does.”
Looking at the WSL table below, Manchester City are doing just that. City are only 2 behind Chelsea and 3 behind Arsenal, on goal difference. However, Chelsea have 3 games in hand, and Arsenal 2 games in hand, over both Manchester clubs, so there are still plenty of games to play in order to increase that goal difference.
Next up for Arsenal in the WSL is Leicester, at Meadow Park, on Friday 5th May. Leicester have clawed their way out of the relegation zone through April, with a 2-1 win over Reading and a 4-0 over Liverpool.
A very depleted Arsenal Women team, with so many key players out with serious injuries, will need to dominate that game and get their goal-scoring boots on. Our Gunners are without Beth Mead, Vivianne Miedema, captain Kim Little, vice-captain Leah Williamson, Caitlin Foord (though hopefully she will return to action soon) and very worryingly Laura Weinroither, who was stretchered off the pitch during the Wolfsburg game last night..
I have every faith that our Gunners can finish in the top 3. We are at the business end of the season and now, unfortunately, our Gunners only have the WSL to concentrate on, with qualification to the Champions League next season at the forefront of their minds..
Michelle Maxwell
Watch the Arsenal v Wolfsburg highlights here….
Amazing highlights – Arsenal Women heart-broken after last-gasp winner from Wolfsburg
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Do you want to read more about the Arsenal Women’s Team? Click here….
