Chelsea 0-0 Arsenal: WSL's top two end goalless despite late drama

Arsenal maintained their two-point advantage over Chelsea at the top of the Women's Super League table after a dramatic draw at Kingsmeadow that somehow ended goalless.

In front of a sell-out crowd, the WSL's top two delivered an action-packed display with both sides coming close to breaking the deadlock.

The Gunners almost won it late on when back-to-back corners were scrambled off the line by Chelsea defender Millie Bright, drawing gasps from the 3,330 fans in the ground.

But the drama did not end there as eight minutes of added time followed, and during that time Chelsea's Jessie Fleming had a goal disallowed for offside, before there were huge penalty appeals for handball by Leah Williamson from the hosts.

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The encounter epitomised this season's topsy-turvy WSL title race, with end-to-end action until the last second of the match.

Emma Hayes was particularly frustrated by Chelsea's late penalty appeal being denied, while Arsenal boss Jonas Eidevall frantically waved away the notion Williamson had handled it.

"From our perspective it was a clear penalty," said the Chelsea boss. "The whole stadium felt it was, even the Arsenal bench probably did.

"The referee looked at Leah Williamson and asked did you handball it? Of course she said she didn't. We missed a big decision."

Eidevall told Sky Sports: "It is the referee's decision in the end. Maybe that could have been a penalty against us, maybe we should have had a penalty before and we wouldn't have been in that situation."

Top two deliver a thriller

This game promised to be one of the most thrilling of the season and it did not disappoint.

There was plenty of spice on and off the pitch, with supporters taunting each other throughout, while both managers were animated on the touchline.

Vivianne Miedema struck the post during a bright spell for Arsenal in the first half but Chelsea had numerous chances after the break.

The visitors threw their bodies on the line at times and Chelsea's prolific front three - Sam Kerr, Fran Kirby and Pernille Harder - were unable to take their chances.

While Chelsea were denied a strong penalty appeal in stoppage time, there were two spot-kick shouts from Arsenal either side of the break - both involving defender Jess Carter and Australian forward Caitlin Foord, but neither were given.

Fran Kirby was among those who had chances for Chelsea in the second half

'Tiredness showed in attack'

Chelsea have a game in hand on Arsenal so there is everything still to play for in this title race, while all eyes will be on Sunday's derby as third-placed Manchester United will reduce the gap to Chelsea to one point if they pick up a win over rivals Manchester City.

Hayes said a draw with their London rivals was a fair result, although she felt her team were not at their usual attacking best.

"The accumulation of games showed in us tonight. I didn't think we were free-flowing by our standards going forward, but we were rock-solid defensively," she said.

"I thought we struggled in the first half - Arsenal's best moments in terms of dominance were in the first half. We created some big chances which weren't to be in the second half."

Eidevall, whose side suffered a heavy defeat against Chelsea in the FA Cup final in December, said his side should be "proud" of their display against the league champions.

"It was one of the big things we talked about, being better on the ball against those top teams," he said.

"Chelsea tried to press us high at moments but we played through that pressure. That was really pleasing to see."

A draw maintains Arsenal's advantage - although Chelsea can still overtake them should they win their game in hand - but competition lower down the table has already proven tough for both sides this season and there is likely to be further drama in the title race.