Dribble Diaries

The Goalkeeping Revolution at Kingsmeadow As the 2025-26 Women's Super League season approaches, Chelsea FC Women find themselves at an intriguing crossroads in their goalkeeping department.  The signing of Swiss international Livia Peng from FC Zürich has generated heated debate about the future of the number one shirt at Kingsmeadow.  After Zećira Mušović's departure, England's Hannah Hampton has been the first-choice goalkeeper. This season will be one of the most exciting goalkeeper competitions in recent WSL history. Chapter 1: Livia Peng - The Swiss Precision Instrument The Making of a Modern Goalkeeper Born in Geneva to a Chinese-Swiss family, Peng's multicultural background reflects in her versatile playing style. Her development path reveals why Chelsea identified her as a perfect long-term investment: 2018-2020 (Youth Breakthrough): Trained at Servette FC's elite academy Coached by former Swiss international goalkeeper Pascal Zuberbühler Developed revoluti...

Chelsea won their sixth consecutive Women's Super League title with two games to spare, continuing their relentless dominance of the major silverware in English women's football as they dug deep to win away at Manchester United, whose hopes of securing European qualification were dashed as a result. The 1-0 victory, secured by a 74th-minute Lucy Bronze header from a corner, was met with jubilant scenes of celebration in the away end, putting Sonia Bompastor's team on track to go the entire league season unbeaten, a feat not accomplished by any team since the WSL expanded to a 12-team division. It also ensured that the English champions rebounded quickly from their deeply disappointing exit from Europe just three days earlier, and kept them on track for a potential domestic treble of major trophies this season in Bompastor's first season in English football, having already won the League Cup in March. Manchester United, led by Marc Skinner, remain third in the table de...

All roads lead to the UEFA Women's Champions League final, and the semi-final second legs have been completed! To reach the final in Lisbon next month, Chelsea and Arsenal needed to erase aggregate deficits against Barcelona and Lyon, respectively. Here's how the second legs turned out... Arsenal stroll past Lyon. Arsenal staged a spectacular comeback to defeat Lyon 4-1 (5-3 on aggregate). Christiane Endler's own goal in the first five minutes gave the Gunners optimism, and Mariona Caldentey made it 2-0 just before halftime. Arsenal's second-half performance was even better, with Alessia Russo and Caitlin Foord adding two more goals to seal the victory. Those goals provided the perfect margin, and Melchie Dumornay equalized for Lyon in the final 10 minutes, but the French club had left themselves too much to do, and Arsenal held on for the triumph. Barcelona defeated Chelsea to reach the final. Sonia Bompastor's Chelsea suffered a 4-1 (8-2 on aggregate) def...

Chelsea's pursuit for the 2024/25 quadruple continued with a 2-1 FA Cup semi-final victory over Liverpool. Chelsea pushed for an early goal against Kingsmeadow, and Sandy Baltimore almost scored immediately from a corner, but Rachael Laws saved the daring attempt. Liverpool upset Chelsea with their first assault of the game, when Olivia Smith raced onto Marie Höbinger's through ball and finished in the bottom corner. Chelsea equalised just before halftime with a looping volley from Erin Cuthbert. After the break, the Blues attempted a second goal, but Laws saved Aggie Beever-Jones' close-range drive. Liverpool nearly pulled off another surprise in the dying minutes when Hannah Hampton turned Taylor Hinds' looping shot against the crossbar. As the game approached extra time, Beever-Jones leaped to meet Baltimore's cross, advancing the Blues to their fourth FA Cup final in five seasons. It was heartbreaking for a determined Liverpool, who were denied thei...

Manchester City's 2-0 victory in the first leg of their Women's Champions League quarterfinal matchup gave them an advantage over domestic rival Chelsea. After a first forty-five minutes of action that resembled two boxers searching for flaws in the opening rounds before trading blows, neither City nor Chelsea were able to break the impasse before the half. Nick Cushing, the manager of Interim City, was undoubtedly happier than his managerial opposite. He made it clear that he intended to take advantage of City's attacking numbers by bringing on Dutch star Vivienna Miedema shortly before the restart. However, City's Ayaka Yamashita did well to scramble across her line to block a Laura James thunderbolt that would have broken the tie, and Chelsea came very close to taking the lead shortly after the restart. After Hannah Hampton first tipped Laia Aleixandri's header onto and off the post, Miedema herself struck the near post with a tremendous volley, but it was...

In addition to criticizing the Pride Park field where Chelsea defeated Manchester City in the Women's League Cup final, Sonia Bompastor expressed her uncertainty that the same conditions would be used for a men's final. Following a long winter and a hard Championship season, the playing surface at Derby County's stadium was obviously poor, with bare spots showing through and giving the players an uneven bounce. Chelsea won the season's first trophy after defeating City 2-1. Later, Lucy Bronze stated that it "was not the day" to play passing football due to the surface, which was especially worn on the near touchline, in the four corners, and in both goalmouths. Chelsea player Erin Cuthbert also stated that the pitch was unfit for a big final. French coach Bompastor, who won her first trophy with Chelsea after replacing Emma Hayes at the beginning of the season, remarked, "It's a bit of a shame to have this pitch for a final, especially when you e...

Amandine Miquel hopes her Leicester City side can surprise Chelsea in their latest Barclays Women's Super League match. The two teams will meet at Kingsmeadow on Wednesday evening. Leicester City drew 1-1 against Chelsea in the reverse fixture, and manager Miquel is preparing another surprise for The Blues in South West London. "We have to try to give them some trouble," Miquel stated during the pre-match press conference. "Myself and Sonia Bompastor enjoy challenging each other, so we're going to try to prepare something unexpected. "Against those type of teams, you can prepare whatever you want but if they're on a good day, it's a hard game." Miquel emphasized aggression and execution as key qualities for her team to demonstrate at Kingsmeadow. She stated, "We need to have intensity, be really aggressive out of possession, and be very efficient because you may only get one or two breaks to get to their goal. To beat those types...

Chelsea have signed Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Becky Spencer on an emergency loan deal. This afternoon, The Blues issued an official club press release informing WSL Full-Time of the news. Spencer is expected to spend the remainder of the current campaign at Kingsmeadow. The 34-year-old Jamaican international goalkeeper returns to the club, where she previously played from 2016 to 2018. Spencer has since gone on to have a highly successful five-and-a-half-year spell with Spurs, during which she has played an important role in the squad. Chelsea decided to sign Spencer following the recent injury to Dutch goalkeeper Femke Liefting. Liefting suffered a foot injury before the Blues' latest Barclays Women's Super League match against Everton at Kingsmeadow. It is expected that the player will be sidelined for the long term. Chelsea have limited goalkeeping options due to Liefting's injury and Zećira Mušović's recent pregnancy. Spencer's registration status for Sund...

Chelsea striker Sam Kerr has been cleared of racially aggravated harassment after calling a Metropolitan Police officer "stupid and white". The Australian international made the remarks to PC Stephen Lovell after an incident in south-west London in the early hours of January 30, 2023. Kerr, 31, and her partner, West Ham midfielder Kristie Mewis, had been drinking when they were transported to Twickenham Police Station by a taxi driver who said they had refused to pay clean-up fees after one of them became ill and that one of them had damaged the vehicle's rear glass. Kerr became "abusive and insulting" to Pc Lovell at the police station, calling him "f****** stupid and white". A jury returned a not guilty verdict on Tuesday after deliberating for approximately four hours and 17 minutes at Kingston Crown Court the previous day. Following the verdict, Judge Peter Lodder KC stated: "I believe her own behavior contributed significantly to the bring...

Everton have signed Chelsea forward Louna Ribadeira on a loan deal for the remainder of the season. This morning, The Blue Girls issued an official club press release informing WSL Full-Time of the news. The 20-year-old French international forward joined Chelsea from Paris FC last summer, but was immediately loaned back to her former club to further her development. Ribadeira made only two appearances for Paris FC due to injury, but she scored once. Ribadeira returned to Chelsea earlier this month, and head coach Sonia Bompastor expressed a desire for the player to join a Barclays Women's Super League club on loan in the second half of the season. It has now been revealed that the youngster will get her first taste of English football at Everton. After joining Everton on loan, Ribadeira stated, "I'm very happy to be here because Everton is one of the best clubs in the WSL, so I'm very happy and looking forward to getting started." "It's good to gain exp...

Chelsea's head coach, Sonia Bompastor, says her team is excited to play Barclays Women's Super League title rivals Manchester City this weekend. On Saturday evening, the Blues will host The Citizens at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea manager Bompastor stressed the importance of the game during the pre-match news conference, adding that her team is excited to put themselves to the test against Manchester City. "It's obviously an important game against a very good team," Bompastor explained. "There will be two fantastic teams with a nice dynamic and good outcomes, so we are looking forward to it and are really excited. "My role as a manager is to ensure that the players have the appropriate game plan for tomorrow. We practiced this morning, and I believe everything is crystal clear in each player's head. We feel prepared, even if we anticipate a difficult game. Manchester City is doing well and has excellent players, but it will be a wonderful game for eve...

Sonia Bompastor, Chelsea's head coach, says Liverpool will be ready to put her team to the test when they meet this weekend. against Sunday afternoon, the Blues will take against the Reds at St Helens. Last season, Liverpool defeated Chelsea 4-3, putting their title chances in jeopardy, albeit they subsequently won the season. Speaking to the media before of this weekend's match, Bompastor stated that Chelsea respects a Liverpool team that will be ready to challenge. "It's a really exciting game and I know that Liverpool will find a way to perform against Chelsea, so we are prepared for that," says Bompastor. "We don't take any game for granted, and this weekend is no exception. "Based on Liverpool's performances and results since the start of the season, I anticipate to face a well-organised squad that does not concede many goals and is fully prepared to face us on Sunday. They will have a good team and squad. "We will be focusing on ours...

Women's Super League action has been paused this weekend as players prepare for the first international break of the 2024/25 season. With some of our favourite players embarking on a series of friendlies throughout the world, we've had the chance to reflect on how the season has progressed thus far. Manchester City now leads the table, with no club able to break their winning streak, followed by Chelsea and Manchester United. However, it's worth noting that the Citizens enjoy a distinct advantage. They've had the luxury of playing one extra game than Chelsea and United, who had their match postponed due to a scheduling problem with the UEFA Women's Champions League and have yet to be rescheduled. However, one thing is clear: this season has seen a significant boost in overall standard. In the first few weeks, certain clubs took advantage of this, while others struggled to keep up. Seagulls gleam under Dario Vidosic. Dario Vidosic secured his move to England's ...

In their London derby on Saturday, Mayra Ramirez and Sandy Baltimore each scored two goals in the first half to help Chelsea defeat Arsenal. Both of these teams had somewhat contrasting campaign starts going into this match against Emirates. After defeating Barcelona in the Champions League, Chelsea was victorious, while Arsenal was humiliated against Bayern Munich and occupying the mid-table spot in the WSL after just one victory. And things only got worse for the Gunners as Chelsea took an early lead thanks to a goal from Mayra Ramirez in the fourth minute. Shortly after, Sandy Baltimore headed in at the back post to give the west London team a two-goal lead. However, just before halftime, the hosts equalized through Caitlin Foord, who finished from the most unexpected of angles. As Arsenal pressed for an equalizer in the second half, gaps appeared in their defense. Lauren James took advantage of the space around the hour mark, believing she had a penalty after a lunge from Lotte ...