Continental Cup 2023: Arsenal beats Chelsea 3-1 to win Women’s League Cup after five years

It was the first League Cup title for Arsenal since 2018 and the first under manager Jonas Eidevall, who took over the side in 2021.

Kim Little of Arsenal celebrates after scoring against Chelsea in the League Cup final. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

Arsenal women beat Chelsea women 3-1 to win the FA Women’s League Cup 2023, also known as the Continental Cup, at Selhurst Park in London on Sunday.

It was the first League Cup title for Arsenal since 2018 and the first under manager Jonas Eidevall, who took over the side in 2021. It was also the first trophy for the Swede at the club as Arsenal’s first since 2019.

“We’re Arsenal and we need to win titles and trophies and we’re disappointed we haven’t been able to do that until now but we’ve done it,” captain Little told the BBC.

Sam Kerr looked to have given Chelsea the advantage with a quickfire goal within 102 seconds of kick-off, scoring in her third consecutive League Cup final.

However, the equaliser came in the 16th minute when Stina Blackstenius rattled the net after an initial save by Ann-Katrin Berger. Eight minutes later, Catie McCabe was fouled in the box by Sophie Ingle and Kim Little made no mistake to convert from the spot.

Niahm Charles’ own-goal just before the first-half just piled on misery for the defending WSL Champion. While the second-half saw plenty of action from Chelsea, primarily through set-plays, it was a valiant Manuela Zinsberger who stood like a pillar between the sticks to ensure a well-deserved win for the Gunners.