Chelsea on the brink of Women's Super League title after Arsenal's big loss
Arsenal's Stina Blackstenius scores their side's first goal of the game during the English Women's Super League soccer match between Aston Villa and Arsenal at Villa Park in Birmingham, Wednesday April 30, 2025. (David Davies/PA via AP)
Aston Villa's Kirsty Hanson celebrates scoring their side's second goal of the game during the English Women's Super League soccer match between Aston Villa and Arsenal at Villa Park in Birmingham, Wednesday April 30, 2025. (David Davies/PA via AP)
Aston Villa's Jordan Nobbs scores their side's first goal of the game during the English Women's Super League soccer match between Aston Villa and Arsenal at Villa Park in Birmingham, Wednesday April 30, 2025. (David Davies/PA via AP)
Aston Villa's Jordan Nobbs scores their side's first goal of the game during the English Women's Super League soccer match between Aston Villa and Arsenal at Villa Park in Birmingham, Wednesday April 30, 2025. (David Davies/PA via AP)
Arsenal's Stina Blackstenius scores their side's first goal of the game during the English Women's Super League soccer match between Aston Villa and Arsenal at Villa Park in Birmingham, Wednesday April 30, 2025. (David Davies/PA via AP)
Aston Villa's Kirsty Hanson celebrates scoring their side's second goal of the game during the English Women's Super League soccer match between Aston Villa and Arsenal at Villa Park in Birmingham, Wednesday April 30, 2025. (David Davies/PA via AP)
Aston Villa's Jordan Nobbs scores their side's first goal of the game during the English Women's Super League soccer match between Aston Villa and Arsenal at Villa Park in Birmingham, Wednesday April 30, 2025. (David Davies/PA via AP)
Chelsea has the chance to clinch a sixth straight Women's Super League title on Wednesday.
With second-place Arsenal losing 5-2 at Aston Villa, Chelsea — the leader by six points — can move into an unassailable advantage with two games remaining by avoiding defeat at Manchester United in a match kicking off at 1915 GMT.
Advertisement
Chelsea has already won the League Cup this season and has advanced to the FA Cup final, where the team will face Manchester United at Wembley Stadium on May 18. It lost to Barcelona in the Women's Champions League semifinals.
Chelsea also completed the Premier League-FA Cup-League Cup treble in the 2020-21 season.
Arsenal, which was coming off a 4-1 victory over Lyon to reach the Champions League final on Sunday, was the last team other than Chelsea to win the Super League — in 2019.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Bryan Reynolds' bases-loaded triple leads Pirates to season-high 4th straight win, 10-3 over Marlins
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Bryan Reynolds hit a bases-loaded triple to cap a four-run third inning and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the skidding Miami Marlins 10-3 on Monday night for their season-high fourth straight win. Reynolds put the Pirates ahead 4-1 with a line drive to the gap in right-center field off Eury Perez (0-1), who was making his first major league start since Sept. 20, 2023, after recovering from Tommy John surgery. Reynolds' hit came after Andrew McCutchen had an RBI infield single. Advertisement All nine Pirates had hits, and McCutchen and Adam Frazier paced a 15-hit attack with three apiece. Brett Sullivan had two RBIs in his Pirates debut after being called up Saturday from Triple-A Indianapolis. Perez lasted just three innings and gave up four runs and four hits. He had five strikeouts and two walks while throwing 70 pitches as the Marlins lost for the eighth time in their last nine games. Despite missing so much time, Perez is still the youngest pitcher in the major leagues at 22 years, 55 days. The Pirates broke the game open with a four-run sixth that included two throwing errors by the Marlins on Ke'Bryan Hayes' bunt single. That put Pittsburgh ahead 8-2. Advertisement The Marlins' Otto Lopez hit a leadoff home run in the second inning, his sixth, to open the scoring. Miami lost for the eighth time in nine games. Pirates rookie starter Mike Burrows allowed two runs on four hits in 4 1/3 innings with six strikeouts and three walks. Caleb Ferguson (2-0) pitched two perfect innings. The start of the game was delayed 41 minutes because of the threat of inclement weather. Key moment Reynolds' triple gave the Pirates all the runs they would need. Key stat The Pirates are 20-8 against NL East teams at home since the start of last season. Up next Marlins RHP Sandy Alcantara (2-7, 7.89 ERA) faces Pirates RHP Mitch Keller (1-8, 4.13) on Tuesday night in the middle game of the series. ___ AP MLB: John Perrotto, The Associated Press


New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
A's set date for breaking ground on $1.75 billion Las Vegas stadium
The Athletics' eventual move to the Sin City will take another step closer to reality later this month when they break ground on the $1.75 billion stadium in Las Vegas. The nomadic baseball team is planning on a groundbreaking ceremony on June 23 at 8 a.m., the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported Monday night. Construction on the Athletics' future home began back in late April, and the ceremony later this month will serve as a celebration for the organization and local officials. Advertisement 3 The A's plan to move to Las Vegas in 2028. Jerome Miron-Imagn Images Among those expected to be at the event are team ownership, Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo, members of the state legislature and members of the Clark County Commission. The construction schedule for the stadium is slated to span 32 months to have the new ballpark ready for Opening Day 2028, according to the report. Advertisement The Athletics are currently playing in a minor league stadium in Sacramento, Calif., until their home in Las Vegas is completed. 3 This image shows a rendering of the baseball club's proposed stadium in Las Vegas. AP The A's started eying Vegas as a potential landing spot for the franchise back in 2021 when MLB cleared the club to do so after it had attempted to — though the sincerity of the attempts has been brought into question — get a new stadium in Oakland. The Athletics are expecting a largely local turnout for games once the team moves to Las Vegas, the team told the Review-Journal. Advertisement 3 This image shows a rendering of the baseball club's proposed stadium in Las Vegas. AP 'We've always thought that baseball would likely have a strong local component,' A's vice chair Sandy Dean told the outlet in April. 'It's hard to compare to Allegiant [Stadium] entirely because Allegiant has eight or nine games whereas baseball is going to have 81 games.' The Raiders had seen, on average, 68 percent of the fans at home games come from out of town, according to data from the Las Vegas Stadium Authority.


New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Planes, ferries and mini-buses with Aston Villa's long-distance supporters: ‘It's more than the game'
It is an evening in early May and The Athletic joins the call. Smiling faces beam back. There are several, more than anticipated and, for the first few seconds, it feels overwhelming. They are each sitting in their homes, not in Birmingham, where Aston Villa are based, but 200 miles away in the county of Cornwall, England's extreme south-western peninsula. 'Our closest game is Bournemouth (circa 145 miles) but watching Villa is definitely still the quickest to get to,' says Andy. Andy is a member of the Cornwall Lions, a Villa supporters group based in the south-west that has amassed more than 250 local members. But it is far from the only supporters group geographically distant from Villa. Their stories vary, but each of them shares on thing: a mutual love of Villa. Here, The Athletic spoke to some of the team's long-distance supporters who make the journey through rain or shine, hell or high water, to Villa Park… Jay White lives on the Isle of Wight. Born and bred in Birmingham, he has resided on the island off the southern coast of England for more than a quarter of a century, though his passion remains. To get to Villa Park he has to travel by boat and car, with logistical and financial pressures complicating matters. Advertisement 'For context, my dad is Peter White,' Jay says. 'He's retired now, but he covered Villa in the 70s, 80s and 90s for the Birmingham Mail. It was ingrained into me. I've had a season ticket sitting in the Lower Holte End for four years. Before that, I didn't need one because I could always get tickets. 'My wife comes to a few games. I don't want to say our life revolves around Villa, but on occasions it can. I was fortunate enough for both of us to be in Paris (for the Champions League match against Paris Saint-Germain). 'For other Champions League games, I've had to use holiday. I'll take a half day on the day of the game, stay up and then drive back down for work that afternoon. 'If it's a Saturday match, sometimes I'll go the night before. But mostly, for a 3pm kick off, I'll leave home at 7am to catch the ferry, which takes around an hour. The drive up into Birmingham's city centre is three and a half hours. I'll then meet pals. 'If I do come back straight after, it would be the 10pm ferry, provided we get out of the ground by six. I'll then walk through my front door just before midnight. 'I did 20 games last season, including a few Champions League matches. The cost is a problem. If an average ferry is £80, then staying up in a hotel, having a couple of beers and petrol costs means it becomes £250/£300 day. That's before you take into account a match ticket. 'But it's just a pure love. It's more than the game — it's meeting up with mates and camaraderie. The football we're playing now makes the journeys better. Luckily, my wife is very understanding. Our wedding last year had a claret-and-blue-themed table plan.' In the early hours of a January morning, Rob Steele sits next to me in one of Heathrow's departure lounges. Villa are playing Monaco that evening and despite a 6am flight, there is no shortage of enthusiasm. Rob, who lives in Bridgend in Wales, about 130 miles from Birmingham, is used to early morning starts in aid of Villa. 'The journey to Birmingham is fine most of the time,' he says. 'We set off a bit earlier to make sure we get a tidy parking spot and then we kill time in the Witton Pub.' Later in the season, he describes his itinerary for a home match against Newcastle: 'My main accessory is a portable charger. I can't be having a dead phone with the drive from South Wales. It wasn't such an issue with physical season-tickets, but with them now on my phone, you've got to have a backup plan. Advertisement 'I go with mates, so we sort who is driving — and organise pickup times — a couple of us live in Bridgend and some in Cardiff. For tonight's 5.30pm kick off, I'll leave Bridgend with my mate Nik at 11am. At 12pm, pick up one of the lads in Cardiff. At 2pm, park up and get some food. '5pm: Head to Villa Park. 5.30-7.30pm: Stress like hell about the game. 10.15pm: Home.' Bryan, one of the Cornwall supporters, explains his support for Villa over the video call: 'My family are from Essex, we moved to Hampshire when I was four. My dad supported Villa and we had season tickets driving from Hampshire for six years. I relocated here five years ago. Me and my lad George don't have season tickets, but we travel to as many games as we can.' 'I'm from North Kent,' says Stuart, another Villa supporter on the call. 'My dad was Tottenham, my mum was Arsenal. I got to the middle of junior school and I had to stick with a team. Villa chose me.' Karen: 'I was born in Sutton Coldfield, but my family came from different parts and just congregated in Birmingham. But I've got a great-grandmother who was a proper Brummie and family that were there before Villa's inception, so it's in my blood. I'm still a season ticket holder. I join the guys on the mini-bus — when we lose, it's like a hearse.' Andy: 'I'm from Great Barr. I used to walk to Villa Park with my dad and grandpa. I've been going since 1984. I had a hiatus after I moved down to Cornwall and started picking it back up in 2016. My first game back was with my boy in the Championship and we've been season-ticket holders for the best part of 10 years. 'We were going up on the train before I met Dave. We will car share up to Exeter and then make our own way, by hook or by crook. It's a labour of love and a 500-mile round trip every couple of days.' Stuart: 'For a Saturday 3pm, the mini-bus that some of our members arrange sets off at 9am. We aim to be up there two hours before.' Dave: 'With a pit stop at the Witton Pub for a couple of beverages.' Andy: 'For a 12.30 kick off, we hit the road just after six. Rousing my 16-year-old son takes time, but we are there for 10am. For Champions League nights, I was picking up from school and arriving 7pm. The journey is four hours on a good day.' Advertisement Dave: 'I was getting back from those games at 4.30am and then going to work about 10am. If you're not there, we have a big WhatsApp chat that you almost feel like you're at the game. We've got group chats for tickets, events, banter and matchday talk.' Karen: 'When you're somewhere like Cornwall, you're so far apart from each other. I live in a village and I've got two other Villa supporters here, so that helps any sort of isolation.' Bryan: 'When George and I go, we've had to buy higher-priced tickets because they were the only ones available. Throw in hotel accommodation and a couple of beers, it's expensive. We can't really stay on a Sunday night after games because George's school doesn't particularly like us missing Mondays. It's tricky to manage.' George: 'I don't think school is very important when it comes to Villa! It's painful when you go back to all your friends at school the next day who are United fans but have never been to the ground. They give it the big one all the time, for some reason.' The following week, I'm joined by Andrew Bready in the Villa Park press box. I first met Andrew in Athens before Villa's Conference League semi-final against Olympiacos last May. He commutes to every home and away match — barring the odd Carabao Cup fixture — from Northern Ireland and has been for 15 years. 'My love of Villa began in the early 90s,' he says. 'Villa came to Belfast to play against Man United and my cousins were going and were United fans. I just wanted to be different. I said, 'I'm supporting Villa'. I caught the bug after that. 'I missed three games in the Championship, home or away. Since Covid, I've rarely missed one. I didn't go to Brentford last season because I was at a wedding. I've not missed any other games aside from the Carabao Cup. 'Matches during the week are not ideal. For the Celtic match, I flew from Belfast at 3.30pm. To avoid missing a day off work (Andrew works in a factory managed by his cousin), I worked until lunchtime, got changed and drove to the airport, which takes an hour. 'I then fly over, go to Villa Park and fly back the next morning — usually the 8.35am flight. I'll land an hour later, drive home 70 miles and be back at work for 11am. The next day after the game at Paris Saint-Germain, I was back at work for lunchtime. I'll go straight to Belfast after early-evening kick-offs and will land at 1am. Advertisement 'Delayed flights are a pain. Ipswich Town away, I flew to Stansted. The flight was delayed by over three hours. The plan had been to meet Kevin and hire a car to drive up, but I was delayed so I ended up getting a bus. The drive felt like forever, but I only missed 10 minutes. 'It's nice to get the summer off, yet by the time the season starts, I'll have that buzz again. I sit in the Lower Trinity Stand, so it's good to meet up with the Villa family; the people you know from sitting around them.'