Late goal sees Chelsea win thriller with Aston Villa & keep faint WSL title hopes alive

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/aston-villa-AaUYwhYM/chelsea-Q7Hu2UDD/?mid=SQENVGJ8"]The win[/a] moves [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/chelsea/Q7Hu2UDD/"]Chelsea[/a] up ‌to second place on 40 points, nine ‌behind leaders [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/manchester-city/bcOx8Zz6/"]Manchester City[/a], with both sides having played 19 of their 22 league games.[/p][p]Though they still ‌have a theoretical chance of winning ⁠the league, Chelsea ‌would need to win their remaining three games while ​City, who have only dropped seven points, would have to lose all of ​theirs.[/p][p]Those slim title hopes looked set to evaporate completely against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/aston-villa/AaUYwhYM/"]Villa[/a] as the visitors took an ⁠early lead through ​Chasity Grant, but three goals in an eight-minute spell from [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kerr-samantha/8YuNOAak/"]Sam Kerr[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/girma-naomi/bLMP82cP/"]Naomi Girma[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/james-lauren/nR4k89xo/"]Lauren James[/a] put Chelsea back in the driving ‌seat.[/p][p]However, Chelsea's defensive flaws this season were once again exposed as Villa battled back to level thanks to two quick-fire goals from [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hanson-kirsty/ALm8DgPK/"]Kirsty Hanson[/a].[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/nusken-sjoeke/xODAAUJh/"]Nuesken[/a]'s brilliant winner in the 82nd minute finally got the home side over the line.[/p][embed guid="cb2e36e4-7165-4e36-b69f-8e02582a5014" url="https://x.com/ChelseaFCW/status/2038238870408429956" social-type="twitter" /][p]In the day's other games, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/west-ham/f5LnX3Gl/"]West Ham United[/a] were held to a 1-1 draw at home ‌by London [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/london-city-lionesses/Qyn18a5D/"]City Lionesses[/a], while bottom side [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/leicester/dWUIlGLF/"]​Leicester City[/a] take on [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/brighton/KxpSSJgi/"]Brighton & Hove Albion[/a] ‌later on Sunday.[/p][p]On Saturday, Manchester City strengthened their grip on top spot with a resounding 3-0 derby win over [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/manchester-united/4EeCFcxJ/"]Manchester United[/a], while [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/arsenal/8CKOoQdn/"]Arsenal[/a] put themselves in a strong position ⁠in the race ⁠for second place by ‌beating [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/tottenham/zJscgDii/"]Tottenham Hotspur[/a] 5-2.[/p]