The "sock crisis" dominated the encounter between Chelsea and their visitors Arsenal in the Women's Premier League. Chelsea, the leaders, won 3-1 against their neighbors in third place, thanks to a goal from Lauren James and a brace from Siobhan Hutton, on Friday, extending their lead at the top of the league by 3 points after the match start was delayed due to the teams wearing similar socks. With this victory, Chelsea raised their total to 40 points, ahead of Manchester City, who will visit Brighton on Sunday, and maintaining a 6-point lead over Arsenal.
The kickoff for the crucial match at Stamford Bridge was postponed after both teams wore the same white socks, forcing the visiting team to make a quick stop at Chelsea’s merchandise store to purchase different socks. Arsenal appeared in their regular white socks, which is the same color Chelsea uses when playing at home. Therefore, it was necessary to delay the start of the match by half an hour. When both teams finally returned to complete their warm-up before the match, Sky Sports reported that the Arsenal lineup had purchased dark socks from the Chelsea store, which the players wore after placing tape over the home team's logo on the socks.
