Chelsea have won the Women’s Super League title for the sixth consecutive season after a 1-0 win over Manchester United on Wednesday.
After Arsenal collapsed to a 5-2 loss at Aston Villa earlier in the day, it left Sonia Bompastor’s side in need of just one point to get over the line.
But Lucy Bronze’s late goal ensured the Blues could celebrate their first league title under the Frenchwoman with a victory at Leigh Sports Village.
United, who have never beaten Chelsea in the WSL, had the better of the first half.
Melvine Malard was unable to beat Hannah Hampton one-on-one after being gifted a chance by Johanna Rytting Kaneryd, while Grace Clinton also spurned a glorious opportunity.
Though Chelsea, who were knocked out of the Champions League after a heavy semi-final defeat to Barcelona on Sunday, improved marginally after the break, they still rode their luck, with Marc Skinner’s side unable to take their chances.
Bronze’s 74th-minute winner came from a corner, with Phallon Tullis-Joyce missing her punch, leaving the right-back to flick a header in at the far post and secure top spot with two games to spare.
Arsenal’s hopes of winning the WSL had been slim prior to kick-off, but, after a stunning comeback against Lyon to reach the Champions League final at the weekend, Renee Slegers will be disappointed with Wednesday’s showing.
Villa profited from Sabrina D’Angelo’s double save to deny Beth Mead, with Jordan Nobbs netting her first goal of the season from the resulting counter-attack, before Kirsty Hanson doubled their lead in first-half stoppage time.
The much-changed Arsenal attempted to strengthen with half-time substitutes, but Chasity Grant scored the first of her brace just 40 seconds after the restart.
Rachel Daly then put the result beyond doubt, poking in Villa’s fourth 13 minutes later, though the Gunners did attempt a late fightback.
Stina Blackstenius and Alessia Russo scored in the space of three minutes to halve the deficit, but Grant got her second to dash the visitors’ hopes as Villa wrapped up a third straight win.
Data Debrief: Bompastor’s brilliant Blues
Chelsea quickly put Sunday’s Champions League disappointment behind them, building on their domestic dominance in what has been a stellar campaign at the helm for Bompastor.
Not including the inaugural WSL season, when Laura Harvey’s Arsenal won the title, Bompastor is the first manager to win the competition in her maiden campaign.
And this win means they have set a new record for the most consecutive games unbeaten in a single WSL campaign (20), surpassing Manchester City’s run of 19 in 2018-19.
The Blues sit top of the table with 54 points with only two games left to play, and if they can win their final two matches, against Tottenham and Liverpool, they will set the record points total in a single WSL season (currently 58, set by Chelsea themselves in 2022-23).
Overall, it is their ninth triumph in the competition, winning three times as many titles as any other side (Arsenal, three).
