Cliff Notes – How ruthless Chelsea romped to a sixth consecutive WSL title
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Chelsea secured their sixth consecutive Women’s Super League title with a 1-0 victory over Manchester United, marking their eighth overall championship and maintaining an unbeaten league season so far.
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Manager Sonia Bompastor’s first season saw Chelsea start strong, winning their first nine matches, which provided a crucial cushion for later draws and set the tone for their dominance in the league.
- The team’s depth and Bompastor’s intense training methods allowed Chelsea to navigate injuries effectively, while rivals like Arsenal and Manchester United dropped vital points, further solidifying Chelsea’s position at the top.
How ruthless Chelsea romped to a sixth consecutive WSL title
For a sixth consecutive time, Chelsea are Women’s Super League champions. With two games to spare and, after defeating Manchester United 1-0 after a decisive goal from Lucy Bronze, the Blues were crowned champions once again on Wednesday.
The league victory, their eighth in total, is made all the more astonishing as it was manager Sonia Bompastor’s first season in England, after leaving European juggernauts Lyon in the summer.
The unbeaten domestic season (so far) also means the Blues have a chance to secure a record points total and are one trophy away from a treble after securing the League Cup and now the league title. They face Man United in the FA Cup final next month.
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Here are the five aspects that spurred Bompastor’s Chelsea to such a stunning triumph.
1. Early start gave Chelsea a cushion
Despite being in charge for only a matter of weeks, Bompastor began her career in England in the best possible fashion; winning the first nine games of the season, breaking a number of records within that time. A 1-1 draw against Leicester City ended their winning run, yet the Blues continued to remain unbeaten (more on that later). Winning the first nine games not only sent a statement but provided a much-needed cushion when they were unable to grind out victories, settling for draws, later in the season.
A fast start in the WSL is incredibly important. Arsenal this season, United last season, and Manchester City the season before, all endured a slow start to their campaign and were unable to overturn the deficit in a 22-game season. No team had won the league with two losses until last season, when Chelsea won it with three — but only narrowly. They secured the win on goal difference.
Chelsea learnt their lesson and ensured they started 2024-25 fast, not only sending a warning sign to other clubs that, despite a new manager, the reigning champs were as ruthless as ever — but it also set them up perfectly to stay unbeaten.
2. Invincibles (so far)
Despite losses in the Women’s Champions League, including their 8-2 aggregate humbling at the hands of Barcelona in the semifinals, Bompsator’s side remained unbeaten in 20 leagues games, only dropping points in three draws. Leicester City, West Ham United and Brighton & Hove Albion are the only teams to take points off Chelsea this season, leaving the Blues close to a record points total.
Previously, Chelsea needed 58 points to win the league but, following their win over United on Wednesday, combined with Arsenal’s failure to beat Aston Villa, the Blues have secured the title with 54 points. They could still end the season with a record points total, with two games left still to play; two wins would take them to 60, beating the current record (58).
This title was always Chelsea’s to lose. They have won it seven times before, and since 2019 have been the only winners. They still are the team to beat in England, despite the changes off-pitch. The team is stacked full of players who know what it takes to win, and operate under a manager who does, too. Serial winners settle for nothing less than perfection, and this season is as close as it comes to that.
3. Other teams dropped crucial points
As much as Chelsea’s title campaign has been exceptional, they were aided by the fact that Arsenal, Man United and Man City all dropped points in crucial games. Arsenal started the season slowly and, despite going on a winning streak after, were unable to close the gap. United’s needless draws also meant they fell behind the curb, and Man City’s drop off following their midseason injury crisis forced them out of the top three.
This, combined with Chelsea’s ability to secure key wins against their opponents in the top four, including Wednesday’s narrow win over United, meant the Blues surged ahead. Though they had a few minor hiccups against lower-ranked teams, they avoided slipping when it mattered most.
Chelsea are the only top-four side to have beaten the other league leaders twice this season. In fact, it is the first season that Chelsea have done the double over City and Arsenal. Last season, Chelsea suffered a 4-1 loss away to Arsenal rectified by a 2-1 win there this season — the first time they had won at the N5 stadium. They lost and drew to City last season, too; 1-0 at Kingsmeadow. This was overturned by a 2-0 win at home showing that Bompastor could exorcise Chelsea’s biggest demons.
4. Chelsea’s squad depth is the envy of most clubs in the world
Chelsea’s squad depth is simply astounding. The quality in the side runs arguably deeper than any team in Europe, meaning that when Bompastor faced injuries — they had plenty including the absence of Sam Kerr all season, Lauren James’ two stints on the sidelines, and injuries to Guro Reiten and Nathalie Björn — the boss was able to pull from plenty of other options to plug gaps. And rarely were gaps obvious despite not having her favoured XI available.
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Chelsea’s injuries went almost unnoticed because of their squad depth. In comparison, City had four key players all ruled out at one point, completely derailing their season and spoiling their chances of a second WSL title. They finished second last season, level on points with the champions, but lost out on goal difference. Now, they are 15 points shy of Chelsea.
Rotation, while it stunted certain link-ups and prevented from relationships from developing further, proved critical at the end stage of the season when the Blues were battling in the final steps of the domestic cup competitions, the Champions League knockouts and the league. Fatigue set in, but Bompastor was able to ensure fitness stayed as high as possible among as many players as possible, swapping out loaded players to keep her side ticking over.
5. Bompastor’s intense training methods
It was a seamless transition when Bompastor took over the helm in the summer. The French coach, a self-proclaimed sore loser and serial winner, demanded a lot from her players from the get-go. She will tell you so herself. Training sessions are as intense as a cup final game, requiring full focus and vigour day in and day out.
“She’s very demanding,” midfielder Erin Cuthbert told ESPN in November. “That’s something I really like from a manager. She knows what she wants, she doesn’t settle, she doesn’t like sloppiness in training, she doesn’t let you sit back and chill for 10 minutes. There’s no let up from her, and I really enjoy that she knows exactly what she wants.”
The new, intense training, while not far off former manager Emma Hayes’ approach, did mean that players could not slack off, indicating that perhaps the now United States boss was slightly more lenient. Cuthbert said the pair were similar in their style but Bompastor demanded more technical execution from her players, with more focus on building up from the back.
“She demands a lot of technical execution from everyone, and I think she will never settle on what she wants to achieve,” she said. “[Bompastor] certainly demands training at a high intensity; if you can’t do it in training, then you can’t play it in the game.”
Both managers have achieved success with the Blues, and Bompastor’s intense style has certainly created a winning formula in her first season. The proof is clear that the changes she brought to the team — while they did not see the team through to the Champions League final — were effective in getting them to domestic glory, with a two out three trophies secured.
They’ll have the opportunity to complete the treble on May 18, when Chelsea face United again in the FA Cup final at Wembley.