Chelsea have won the 2024-25 Women’s Super League title after a 1-0 victory over Manchester United.
The triumph marks a record-extending sixth successive WSL title for Chelsea, who remain unbeaten in the top flight this season with two games remaining.
The title race had been set to go down to the penultimate round of fixtures but second-place Arsenal suffered a surprise 5-2 defeat to Aston Villa on Wednesday, leaving Chelsea only needing a point in the day’s later kick off against Manchester United to be crowned league champions.
Chelsea were forced to defend for long periods at Leigh Sports Village, but Lucy Bronze headed home from a corner in the 74th-minute to secure the points and the title for Sonia Bompastor’s side.
The victory secures a first WSL title in her debut season for head coach Bompastor, having been appointed Emma Hayes’ successor in the summer. Hayes departed after 12 years in charge to take the U.S. women’s national team job, but there has been no let up in Chelsea’s dominance of English women’s football.
Bompastor is yet to lose a WSL match as Chelsea head coach (Photo: Harriet Lander – Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)
Chelsea have won 17 and drawn three of their 20 WSL games this season. Should they avoid defeat in their remaining two league games, they will become the first WSL team to go an entire season unbeaten since the league expanded to 12 teams in 2019.
Chelsea previously won the 2017-18 title without losing a game in a 10-team league, and were unbeaten 15 games into the 2019-20 campaign before the season was curtailed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Bompastor’s side have led the WSL since November’s 2-0 over Manchester City, having begun the campaign with nine straight victories. They did not drop points until a 1-1 draw with Leicester City on December 14.
Chelsea were knocked out of the Champions League at the semi-final stage by Barcelona on Sunday but can still claim a domestic treble, having won the Subway Women’s League Cup in March with victory over Manchester City. They face Manchester United in the FA Cup final on May 18.
‘Chelsea title represents a seamless transition from Hayes to Bompastor’ – analysis
By Charlotte Harpur
Following Arsenal’s 5-2 loss against Villa, Chelsea knew going into the game that a draw would suffice to win the league. It looked like it was heading that way until Bronze’s salmon-like leap which opened the scoring in the 74th minute.
Playing away at Leigh Sports Village seems somewhat of an anti-climactic way to lift the trophy and it was typically Chelsea that they ground out a result even when not at their best.
But Chelsea had done all the hard work leading up to this point. They remain unbeaten in their 20 WSL games this season and have set a new record for the most consecutive matches unbeaten in a single campaign, surpassing Manchester City’s tally of 19 from the 2018-19 season. It is their sixth consecutive WSL title and their ninth overall, three times as many titles as any other side with Arsenal coming closest with three.
Some may have thought it would have taken Bompastor longer to make her mark in the WSL following Hayes’ departure but it has been a seamless transition domestically. Should they win their last two games, they will also equal their records points tally of 58 and Chelsea are still on track to win a domestic treble, a feat they have only achieved once in their history in 2020-2021.
Arsenal ‘drained’ after Champions League exploits
Arsenal defender Leah Williamson admitted Sunday’s Champions League semi-final comeback victory over Lyon took too much out of the team as they were comfortably beaten by Aston Villa to all but hand Chelsea the WSL title.
Arsenal were 4-1 winners over the eight-time European champions as they reached the Champions League final, but conceded five goals against a Villa side who had won just four league games this season before Wednesday’s meeting.
“It’s tough. Really disappointing,” Williamson told Sky Sports. “Big, big weekend and we have to be able to come and perform again. But I think physically, emotionally, maybe it drained us a little bit too much.
“Nothing changes today. We were still together as a team, I know we unravelled, especially in the second half when we were going for it. It’s just learn, and I’d rather have a lesson now.
“It’s a long season and we’ve had tough moments. We have to be prepared to ride that storm and come out the other side.”
(Top photo: Ben Roberts Photo/Getty Images)