Chelsea collapse sees resilient Arsenal win Conti Cup final 🏆 | OneFootball

Arsenal pulled off an impressive comeback to beat Chelsea 3-1 and win their sixth Conti Cup title.

Scorers: Blackstenius 16, Little 24′ (P), Charles 45+5′ (OG); Kerr 2′

If you missed this final, you’ll wish you had a time machine because the 90 minutes at Selhurst Park kept everyone on the edge of their seats.

It took last year’s finalists Chelsea only 101 seconds to open the scoring when Guro Reiten’s cross found the header of Sam Kerr for 1-0.

The Australian now has nine goals in six domestic cup finals for the Blues.

However, Arsenal made it clear they wouldn’t be shaken up after conceding so early.

The Gunners’ press caused headaches for Millie Bright and Magdalena Eriksson, leading to an impressive turnaround even without the injured Beth Mead and Vivianne Miedema.

Stina Blackstenius’ low drive equalized before Sophie Ingle conceded a penalty which Kim Little calmly converted for 2-1.

Challenges were flying from either side, and the entertainment continued then with the last kick of the first half, a rattled Chelsea saw Niamh Charles’ own-goal hand Arsenal a third.

Coming out into the second half, the Blues turned to their bench in an attempt to avoid losing a second consecutive Conti Cup final after scoring first, and it was the Gunners’ turn to sit back.

Lauren James and Melanie Leupolz impressed, but neither could find the net or combine with Kerr again.

Around the hour mark, Arsenal argued for a penalty at the other end when Kadeisha Buchanan brought Caitlin Foord down in the box though the referee decided otherwise.

During the final 15 minutes, it remained a cagey affair, and tired legs played a big role as neither side found the net again. Leupolz came inches away from making things interesting, but her shot hit the woodwork.

In the end, Arsenal’s Jonas Eidevall won his first trophy as manager and the club’s first since 2019, while it’s deja vu for Emma Hayes’ Chelsea after falling to Manchester City in the same way last season.