“Arsenal maintained their pursuit of Women’s Super League leaders Chelsea by securing a comfortable victory over Everton as they kicked off the year 2024.”
Arsenal Women 2 – Everton Women 1
The Gunners dominated the game and Caitlin Foord scored the first goal after just nine minutes when she headed in a pass from Victoria Pelova from close range.
When Everton’s Katja Snoeijs received a pass from Karoline Olesen before beating Manuela Zinsberger, she was warned not to immediately extend her lead.
But Beth mead soon made sure they found their footing again in first-half stoppage time, heading Lia Walti’s cross to the far post.
The hosts pressed in numbers, forcing Everton into deep positions as they attempted to fend off Arsenal’s constant waves of attacking moves, but failed to score further goals after the break.
The result leaves second-placed Arsenal tied with leaders Chelsea, who have played one more game, while Everton are eighth in the standings.
Arsenal struggled to capitalize on opportunities, but prevailed
Arsenal manager Jonas Eidevall said in the matchday program notes that his team needed to be more “efficient” this year.
“We must acknowledge the truth that we allow more goals than we acknowledge, and generate fewer opportunities than we create,” he expressed.
There was little improvement in that regard on Saturday as Arsenal struggled to make the most of their displays of control.
He recorded 19 shots, but only six of his attempts were on goal as he had 2.49 expected goals.
Mead hit the crossbar in the opening minutes, while Everton goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan had to intervene on several occasions to stop the quick reactions of the home team.
Arsenal struggled to try and extend their lead, with their front four of Mead, Foord, Alessia Russo and Vivianne Miedema keeping the Toffees at bay by running quickly and passing the ball around their defensive line.
The visitors were rarely able to advance and when they did they were often hampered by defender Lotte Wubben Moyy, who was usually active in intercepting any passes headed his way.
However, when Arsenal switched in midfield and allowed the ball to flow towards Olesen, Snoeijs, who was completely unmarked, easily equalized for the visitors.
They ensured there was no uncertainty left over goals but failed to produce a scoreline that accurately reflected their dominant performance.
U.S. international Emily Fox, in her league debut, almost passed the ball to Russo, but Russo couldn’t get far enough to connect with her shot.
While Arsenal may be disappointed not to win by a larger margin, the three points will be valuable as they chase Chelsea in the title race.