1m ago 16.23 EDT 48 mins: Malard gets booked for attempting to hook a high, bouncing ball back into play but instead booting Charles in the face. Share 2m ago 16.22 EDT 47 mins: Chance for United! Riviere wins the ball brilliantly deep into Chelsea territory, Clinton slides it through to Malard, and really she should give Hampton no chance. She does give Hampton a chance, though, with a shoulder-high shot too close to the keeper, and she saves it. Share 4m ago 16.20 EDT 46 mins: Peeeeep! The home side get the ball re-rolling. Share 5m ago 16.20 EDT Right then. The players are back out. No sign of any halftimely substitutions. Share 19m ago 16.05 EDT So Chelsea are a goalless half away from the league title, but this hasn’t been the performance of champions so far. They don’t all need to be, though, do they? Share 20m ago 16.04 EDT Half time: Manchester United 0-0 Chelsea 45+4 mins: One last half-chance before the interval: Galton is played in down the left by Malard’s nicely-weighted pass and crosses to Ildhusoy, whose header loops wide. Share 22m ago 16.02 EDT 45+1 mins: There’ll be something in the region of three minutes of stoppage time. Looking at a replay, I think that probably should have been a penalty for United: the ball was bouncing, Bright threw out a foot to kick it away, but it looked like Clinton got to the ball fractionally before her, and it was her foot that Bright kicked. Share 23m ago 16.01 EDT 45 mins: It’s just not quite falling for United. Clinton goes down in the area under Bright’s challenge but doesn’t win a penalty; Malard has another shot blocked. Share 27m ago 15.58 EDT 41 mins: For a moment Chelsea seemed to be taking control of the game, but since I first pondered noting the fact United have been all over them. So probably just as well I didn’t, all things considered. Share 31m ago 15.54 EDT 38 mins: What a chance for United! Malard latches on to a back-pass and runs into the area, but Hampton’s out quickly and by the time Malard shoots the keeper is too close! The ball then runs out to Clinton, whose first-time 20-yard drive was on its way in, but Hampton gets up and turns it over the bar! View image in fullscreen Chelsea keeper Hannah Hampton denies Manchester United's Grace Clinton. Photograph: Nick Potts/PA Share Updated at 15.59 EDT 32m ago 15.52 EDT 37 mins: Chelsea’s second shot on target comes from the left foot of Millie Bright, about 25 yards, but it trundles feebly straight to Tullis-Joyce. Share 34m ago 15.50 EDT 34 mins: Chance! Chelsea have a corner on the right, which drops to the feet of Niamh Charles, just outside the six-yard box! She can’t have been expecting that to happen, though, because her feet are not at all in the right place to sweep it in, and as it bounces off her and over the bar she has her head in her hands. Share 36m ago 15.48 EDT 33 mins: Chelsea have their best attack of the game, but Beever-Jones and Kaneryd both choose not to shoot when they probably should have done, and then Cuthbert does choose to shoot but hits a defender. Share 39m ago 15.46 EDT 30 mins: A third of the match played, and the match is just about being played at a fast enough pace for the lack of threatening forward play to be too frustrating, for now. Share 41m ago 15.44 EDT 28 mins: An excellent first touch from Charles takes her away from her marker, but she can’t pick out a blue shirt with the cross. Share 43m ago 15.42 EDT 26 mins: Ramirez goes off, and Johanna Kaneryd replaces her. Share 44m ago 15.40 EDT 25 mins: Ramirez is back on the field, but it looks like she’s just making up the numbers while Chelsea prepare a substitution. Share 45m ago 15.39 EDT 24 mins: Ramirez has left the pitch, so play can continue with Chelsea down to 10 players for now. Share 46m ago 15.38 EDT 23 mins: With the physios on, every other player clusters round their coaches for a tactical update. Ramirez is flat on her back, and doesn’t look to be getting any better. Share 47m ago 15.37 EDT 21 mins: Ramirez goes down, feeling her right knee. It’s not a contact injury, and there’s a chance that’s her night over. Share 48m ago 15.36 EDT 20 mins: United keep the ball for a while, passing it along the halfway line between their defenders, with every blue shirt behind the ball. Eventually they chip it into the penalty area, and Bright heads it away again. Share 51m ago 15.33 EDT 17 mins: Another save! And an incredible goal-saving block! Manchester United are so close to taking the lead, but Malard’s shot is well stopped, and as the ball runs to Clinton with the goal gaping Girma flings herself in the way of the shot! Share 53m ago 15.31 EDT 16 mins: Save! Mayra Ramirez takes a shot from wide to the right of goal. It’s powerful and on its way inside the near post before Tullis-Joyce throws out a glove. View image in fullscreen Mayra Ramirez of Chelsea gets a shot away despite the efforts of Millie Turner of Manchester United. Photograph: Ben Roberts Photo/Getty Images Share Updated at 15.44 EDT 54m ago 15.30 EDT 15 mins: Now United win a corner, which Gabby George takes from the right. Clinton wins the header, 15 yards out or so, but she doesn’t control it at all. Goal kick. Share 1h ago 15.28 EDT 12 mins: Chelsea get the ball into United’s penalty area, but they’re held up on the left and eventually Jayde Riviere, who has started the game well, slides in to tackle and sends the ball behind for a corner. Share 1h ago 15.26 EDT 10 mins: Boos ring out after Janssen gives the ball away, goes down and the referee waves play on. It’s a good decision – Cuthbert got the ball – but Chelsea can’t capitalise, Beever-Jones’ cross going straight to the keeper. Share 1h ago 15.25 EDT 9 mins: A decent start for the home side, but nothing vaguely chance-ish for either team as yet. View image in fullscreen Chelsea’s Agnes Beever-Jones holds off the challenge of Manchester United’s Hinata Miyazawa. Photograph: Ed Sykes/Action Images/Reuters Share Updated at 16.01 EDT 1h ago 15.22 EDT 6 mins: Melvine Malard, United’s tall solo striker, is making a nuisance of herself. She plays a nice ball through to Clinton, but the cross is headed away. Share 1h ago 15.19 EDT 4 mins: Now Janssen brings down Lucy Bronze. United have set their pressurometer to 11. Share 1h ago 15.18 EDT 3 mins: Grace Clinton and Keira Walsh battle each other for the ball for a while on Chelsea’s right flank. The referee eventually decides that Clinton has battled a bit too much, and gives a free-kick. Share 1h ago 15.17 EDT 2 mins: Chelsea have two more league games after today: at Tottenham on Sunday, and at home to Liverpool next Saturday. One point from this game or either of those will win the league for them. Share 1h ago 15.15 EDT Chelsea will kick off. Sounds like a decent atmosphere at Leigh Sports Village. Share 1h ago 15.12 EDT Out come the players! Hands are currently being clasped, and kick-off a couple of minutes away. Share 1h ago 15.05 EDT The two managers have chats with Sky. Chelsea’s Sonia Bompastor says: It could be one opportunity to take a big step to the title, we know that. We need to focus on ourselves. We need to bounce back from the game we had on Sunday. While Manchester United’s Marc Skinner says: I believe in what we are about and who we are, and I want to make it really difficult, really really difficult. We need to be ready to go all the way. That’s what I want to see from us tonight: full commitment. Share 1h ago 14.55 EDT Final score: Aston Villa 5-2 Arsenal The final whistle blows, the final remnants of Arsenal’s title challenge have been comprehensively shredded, and Chelsea are just one point from the title! Share 2h ago 14.54 EDT Villa finally have a shot on target that doesn’t go in, Katie Robinson with a tame effort from just outside the area. Share 2h ago 14.53 EDT There are two minutes’ stoppage time remaining in that game, and Arsenal have a goal-kick and four goals to score. Share 2h ago 14.51 EDT Aston Villa have earned their 5-2 lead with only five shots on target; Arsenal have had more possession (64%), more shots (15-14) and more shots on target (6-5), as well as more corners (10-5) and many, many more passes (489-276 as I type), but here they are. Share 2h ago 14.44 EDT The teams! Meanwhile the teams have landed for the late game, and here they are: Man Utd Women: Tullis-Joyce, Riviere, Le Tissier, Turner, George, Miyazawa, Ildhusoy, Janssen, Clinton, Galton, Malard. Subs: Middleton-Patel, Rendell, Mannion, Sandberg, Awujo, Naalsund, Toone, Griffiths, Terland. Chelsea Women: Hampton, Bronze, Bright, Girma, Charles, Walsh, Kaptein, Beever-Jones, Cuthbert, Baltimore, Ramirez. Subs: Spencer, Hamano, Mpome, Jean-Francois, Macario, Reiten, Lawrence, Kaneryd, Nusken. Share 2h ago 14.35 EDT Surely that ends it! This is wild, wild stuff: a one-two on the halfway line releases Chasity Grant to sprint clear of a high and understaffed Arsenal backline, and she makes no mistake – it’s 5-2! View image in fullscreen Chasity Grant of Aston Villa scores her team's fifth goal against Arsenal. Photograph: Morgan Harlow/The FA/Getty Images Share Updated at 14.56 EDT 2h ago 14.32 EDT And another one! A loveley cross from the right, and Alessia Russo stoops to head in at the near post! It’s 4-2 now, with 20 minutes or so to play! Share 2h ago 14.29 EDT Stina Blackstenius has pulled one back for Arsenal, getting on the end of a long pass over the top of the Villa defence, running clear, and scoring past an exposed keeper. It’s 4-1 now. Share 2h ago 14.28 EDT It’s a couple of years since anything like this has happened to Arsenal: in the space of a few weeks in April and May 2023 they lost league games 4-1 to Manchester City and 3-0 at home to Brighton, but they are not used to this kind of thing. Before this season they’d lost 10 games in three years; Villa have lost seven of their last 10; Manchester United tonked them 4-0 the last time they played a home game. Share 2h ago 14.20 EDT GOAL! Amazing scenes! Aston Villa are thrashing Arsenal Well this is happening: Aston Villa have just scored a fourth – fourth – goal against Arsenal, a great move from goalkeeper through to forward, excellent passing and movement, ending with Rachel Daly poking past the keeper to make it 4-0! Share