Stina Blackstenius and Kim Little on target as Arsenal come from behind to beat Chelsea in Conti Cup final

Arsenal snapped a trophy drought dating back to 2019 with victory over Chelsea in the Conti Cup final in front of a record crowd for the competition at Selhurst Park. Chelsea have been the dominant force in the women’s game in England in recent years, but an effervescent display from Arsenal saw them secure the first piece of silverware of the Jonas Eidevall reign, and their sixth Conti Cup in total. Ad It was a deserved victory in front of 19,010 spectators, and a notable one as it came a week after Chelsea had knocked Arsenal out of the FA Cup.

TransfersChelsea and Arsenal battle over Zaha free transfer — Paper Round14 HOURS AGO A similar story looked set to play out, as Chelsea took the lead inside two minutes. The Gunners failed to clear the ball and Chelsea shifted possession to the left for Guro Reiten, who whipped in an inviting cross for Sam Kerr to head home from four yards. From that moment on, Arsenal dominated the game with their front-foot, attacking play.

The equaliser came on 16 minutes. Arsenal took a quick free-kick on halfway, and Frida Maanum picked up the ball and strode forward. She got off a shot which bobbled into the path of Stina Blackstenius, who fired an effort through the legs of Millie Bright and into the corner.

Arsenal continued to play a high-tempo game and it came as no surprise when the advantage was doubled on 24 minutes. Sophie Ingle felled Katie McCabe in the box and Kim Little fired the penalty into the corner, sending Ann-Katrin Berger the wrong way. It was almost three for Arsenal on 35 minutes, but Blackstenius was flagged offside after striding clear and slotting the ball home.