Arsenal forward Alessia Russo is convinced Stina Blackstenius' winning strike was "written in the stars" after the Sweden international’s "best mate" Frida Maanum had collapsed during the 1-0 League Cup final victory over Chelsea.
Blackstenius broke the deadlock in extra time, in front of a competition final record 21,462 at Molineux, after Maanum, who was off the ball, had fallen to the ground in second-half stoppage time. She was quickly treated by paramedics and removed from the pitch on a stretcher, replaced by Russo.
Arsenal issued an update early in the first 15-minute period of extra-time, confirming Maanum was "conscious, talking and in a stable condition" and will be closely monitored by the club’s medical team.
Russo, speaking to the BBC after Arsenal won the trophy for a seventh time, snapping Chelsea’s chances at a season quadruple in the process, said: “This season’s been pretty high and pretty low, but we knew we had a chance to win some sort of trophy this year and we wanted to do that and that’s what we did.
“Obviously it’s devastating to see one of your team-mates go down like that.
"We’re all wishing and praying that she is OK. I think it was written in the stars that her best mate went and scored the winner for her.
“Obviously Frida is a massive player and plays with every single bit of her body, and she did that today. We just hope she’s OK.”
Chelsea, who entered the contest looking to secure their first silverware of the season, are FA Cup semi-finalists, remain locked into a thrilling battle with Manchester City for the Super League title and on are also in the Champions League semi-finals.
In contrast, the repeat meeting of last season’s Cup finalists was likely the last chance for the Gunners to get their hands on a trophy. They are nine points behind WSL league leaders Manchester City, who have played one game more, and trail Chelsea by six with five games remaining.
Blackstenius’ 116th-minute winner came when she latched onto Caitlin Foord’s pass and bundled the ball past Hannah Hampton, who had impressed all afternoon.
Russo added: “It’s massive. We knew we wanted this trophy and we know that winning trophies is part of this club’s DNA, and that’s what we want to do as players. We want to keep pushing the bar, pushing to keep ourselves to keep winning trophies.”
Blackstenius, speaking to BBC Sport after scoring the winner, said of Maanum: “It’s always really hard. She’s a team-mate and a friend to all of us. We care so much about her. You worry a bit when stuff like this happens. We said we wanted to do this for her, to get this win for her because she couldn’t be with us at that point.”
Chelsea boss Emma Hayes, who will depart the Blues at the end of the season to take charge of the US women’s national team, told the broadcaster: "Player welfare comes first every time.
"I really hope [Maanum] is OK. It’s always worrying when that happens.
"It’s a tough loss. There was nothing between the two teams, I didn’t think it was a high quality game, to be honest with you. [Arsenal] took their chance and they are winners."
Postecoglou: Spurs have a confidence problem to overcome
Ange Postecoglou says that Tottenham need to "overcome" their low confidence after suffering a 4-2 defeat to Liverpool on Sunday.
Spurs slipped to their fourth consecutive Premier League defeat, being left to bemoan their slow start as they found themselves 4-0 down by the hour mark thanks to goals from Mohamed Salah, Andrew Robertson, Cody Gakpo and Harvey Elliott.
Richarlison came off the bench to salvage some pride for Spurs, scoring one before setting up Son Heung-min for a goal on his 300th Premier League appearance.
Spurs had the opportunity to cut the gap to the top four after Aston Villa’s defeat to Brighton, but they remain seven points off a Champions League spot.
Postecoglou’s side still have a game in hand over the Villans, though he was sure that Spurs would be able to put their recent poor run behind them.
Asked if Spurs had a confidence problem, Postecoglou told Sky Sports: "Maybe in the front third there is.
"It probably is a bit of a lack of confidence, but again, that's something the guys have to work through.
"You have to find a way to overcome that because, ultimately, if you don't put pressure on the opposition in the front third after you've worked your way up there, they're going to get comfortable with their position."
Spurs have won just one of their last nine Premier League away games, failing to win any of the last five.
Despite that run extending at Anfield, Postecoglou highlighted what he thought was an improvement on their recent performances.
He continued: "Obviously a hugely disappointing outcome for us but at least we were more like ourselves today in terms of our football.
"Our last two away games at Newcastle and Chelsea, apart from the results which weren't great either, we just didn't try and play our football.
"I thought today, even in the first half, some of our football, our pressing was back to where it should be."
Roma 1-1 Juventus: Juve miss chance to close gap to second after draw with Roma
Juventus were held to a 1-1 draw at Roma on Sunday, missing the chance to close in on Milan in second place in Serie A.
Roma took the lead after 15 minutes when Romelu Lukaku found himself in the perfect position to tap in the rebound from a Bryan Cristante shot.
Bremer levelled with a header for Juventus just after the half-hour mark when Federico Chiesa picked him out inside the box from a corner.
Both sides had chances to find a winner in the final minutes, with Roma keeper Mile Svilar making a fingertip save to push Manuel Locatelli's volley over the bar.
Third-placed Juventus have 66 points, five fewer than Milan, who drew 3-3 with Genoa earlier on Sunday. Roma are fifth with 60 points.
Data Debrief: Leading from the back
Since scoring his first Serie A goal in the 2019-20 season, Bremer is the defender with the most headed goals in the Big-5 European leagues, netting 13 in total. Each of his last seven goals have been headers.
His goal was enough to earn Juventus a point today, but it means that they have drawn each of their last four in the competition - a first since February-March 2012 under Antonio Conte.
Chelsea 8-0 Bristol City: Blues rout hands Hayes perfect home send off
Guro Reiten starred as Chelsea thrashed already-relegated Bristol City 8-0 to keep their title hopes alive in the Women's Super League on Sunday.
The Norwegian scored four goals, netting the opener from the penalty spot to get Emma Hayes' last home game in charge off to the best start.
She scored the other three in the second half in just over 20 minutes, while teeing up Agnes Beever-Jones for the seventh goal with just two minutes left.
Beever-Jones got two, with Sjoeke Nusken and Niamh Charles also adding to the scoreline to eradicate the goal-difference advantage that Manchester City, who lost to Arsenal earlier on Sunday, had over them.
Chelsea move to within three points of the Citizens, with a game in hand over them, remaining in the fight to lift their fifth-consecutive league title.
Data Debrief:
Chelsea have scored eight goals in a game for the first time since December 2022 against Leicester City, a match they also won 8-0.
The Blues have scored in their last six games in the WSL, though it does not come close to their longest run of games with a goal in the competition - a run of 20 from April 2023 to February 2024.
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