Sjoeke Nusken fired Chelsea back up to second place in the WSL with a dramatic late winner in a 4-3 victory over Aston Villa.
The Blues’ Champions League hopes looked set to suffer another blow when Villa came from 3-1 down to draw level in a breathless first half.
But Nusken struck with eight minutes remaining to keep the six-time champions’ slim title hopes still alive, mathematically at least, as they trail Manchester City by nine points.
Villa took a shock lead at Kingsmeadow with less than two minutes on the clock after Lucy Bronze gave the ball away to Chasity Grant.
The Dutch winger played it out to Lynn Wilms and then arrived at the near post to meet the cross and sweep the ball past Hannah Hampton.
Chelsea equalised in the 20th minute when Sam Kerr, back from Asian Cup duty with Australia, latched on to Nusken’s pass and fired home.
Chelsea’s Lauren James (right) celebrates scoring their third goal
Within seven minutes the Blues were 3-1 up, first with Naomi Girma touching a Lauren James cross into the net for her first WSL goal.
Then James, who scored Chelsea’s goal in Tuesday’s 3-1 Champions League first-leg defeat at Arsenal, drilled in the third from 20 yards.
But five minutes later Villa hit back when Wilms delivered another cross and Kirsty Hanson got in front of Bronze to dispatch it.
Aston Villa’s Kirsty Hanson celebrates scoring their equaliser to level at 3-3
And the visitors made it six goals in a crazy first 35 minutes when Wilms tried to bring a cross down and Hanson buried the loose ball.
Chelsea dominated the second half and Alyssa Thompson missed a gilt-edged chance when she headed over from four yards.
Chelsea’s Sam Kerr scores to make it 1-1
But the winner arrived when Ellie Carpenter won the ball in midfield and found Kerr, who teed up Nusken for a first-time finish into the corner.
Bompastor: Players relieved with win
Chelsea boss Sonia Bompastor speaking with Sky Sports:
Sonia Bompastor expressed her joy and relief after Chelsea’s dramatic 4-3 win over Aston Villa at Kingsmeadow,. The result kept Chelsea’s WSL title hopes alive and gave them a huge lift heading into the run-in.
“As you could see there was a lot of joy and partly some relief because right now the reality is we are fighting for the Champions League spots and this win is huge. Really important for us to get the win the and celebrations were a reflection of that.
“They scored first and I think we showed a great reaction from that. We were able to score three goals and to be honest with you, when we are leading 3-1 we should be in control of the game more. Especially being at home and the experience we have in the team. If you look at the first half, they had three shots on goal and scored three goals. That’s not good enough from us.
On position in WSL and title race:
“For sure [there is hope]. The main thing for the players, staff and myself is to focus game by game. We come into every game as prepared as possible. That’s our mentality. We know it will be difficult until the end but we will fight. I’m really proud of the players.”
Arroyo: Frustrated with defeat but performance brought a smile
Aston Villa boss Natalia Arroyo speaking with Sky Sports:
“The game at the end makes me feel a little bit frustrated. We were suffering a lot in the second half. They were sending in crosses and we were defending the box decently. We tried to push higher, make one mistake and they are clinical.
Chasity Grant scores early in the first half to give Villa the lead at Kingsmeadow
“In the end, I think we should be proud of how we started the game, how we were able to come back after conceding three goals. I think it was an entertaining game. We began to dream of getting the three points. We showed how competitive we are and the character we are trying to build.
“We were close but at least our performance can make us smile a little bit. We had some moments where we were really good.”