Chelsea 3-2 Reading: Leaders survive scare to move clear at top of WSL

Fran Kirby slotted successful to enactment Chelsea up arsenic the reigning champions made it 9 consecutive WSL wins since they were beaten connected the opening day

Chelsea ensured they volition walk the wintertime interruption 3 points wide astatine the Women's Super League acme by holding disconnected Reading astatine a snowy Kingsmeadow.

Cankovic stroked successful aft Johanna Rytting Kaneryd struck a station and headed successful a transverse 4 minutes later.

But Reading past struck doubly successful 2 second-half minutes, done Sanne Troelsgaard and Amalie Eikeland.

Troelsgaard's debased changeable squirmed nether Ann-Katrin Berger pursuing immoderate uncertain defending earlier Eikeland fired successful disconnected a station arsenic their broadside threatened to extremity Chelsea's eight-match winning league run.

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The reigning champions had seen Arsenal gully level with them astatine the apical of the array by beating Aston Villa earlier connected Sunday.

Reading were aggrieved by Kirby's opener, arsenic supplier Kaneryd appeared to beryllium offside erstwhile she collected the ball.

The third-bottom Royals stay 7 points wide of occupation aft an 11th distant crippled without victory.

Royals' ambition gives Chelsea a scare

Manager Kelly Chambers kept religion with the players who had begun Reading's 2nd triumph of the play - against Tottenham - a week earlier.

Head manager Phil Cousins was booked for protesting - with immoderate justification - astir Kirby's extremity being permitted, though it is improbable Chelsea's spirited opponents would person held them astatine bay for overmuch longer adjacent if it had been ruled out.

Despite the investigating conditions, Reading's determination to property paid disconnected erstwhile Millie Bright failed to woody convincingly with a transverse and Berger allowed Troelsgaard's debased changeable to rotation nether her.

Chelsea manager Emma Hayes was intelligibly successful a cheery temper connected the seat arsenic her squad surged into a commanding lead, but the interest was evident astir Kingsmeadow aft Eikeland further reduced the deficit.

The squad who had been beaten 5-0 connected their erstwhile 2 trips to Chelsea could not implicit what would person been a singular comeback to assertion an improbable point, portion the hosts pushed for a 4th successful a frenetic finish.

On this form, though, Reading tin look guardant to their instrumentality to WSL enactment successful January - and Chelsea's challengers for the rubric volition person watched connected encouraged arsenic the leaders laboured to victory.

Kirby haunts Royals again

Chelsea goalscorer Kirby - calved successful Reading, and a postgraduate of their younker strategy - has seldom shown mercy to her hometown club, playing a nonstop relation successful 11 goals successful 8 appearances against them.

The England livewire averaged comfortably much than a extremity a crippled during her 3 years arsenic a first-teamer with the Royals, and her eighth against them relied connected a portion of speedy reasoning from a free-kick and a nonaccomplishment from the officials to spot an evident wide offside.

The aboriginal archetypal extremity was reward for a assemblage of 1,184 who sang Always Look connected the Bright Side of Life during the aboriginal stages arsenic they braved freezing conditions to ticker the last crippled of the calendar twelvemonth astatine Kingsmeadow.