- Aggie Beever-Jones’ stoppage time helped Chelsea finish the season unbeaten
- Chelsea were able to celebrate their sixth consecutive title in front of their fans
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When Sonia Bompastor took the Chelsea reins from Emma Hayes last summer, few imagined there were still new heights this team could reach.
Another Women’s Super League title? Probable. How about winning the League Cup again? Likely. But an unbeaten, record-breaking season? Not even two-time Champions League winner Bompastor could have dreamed of such a debut campaign.
Never before has a women’s team completed a full 22-game WSL season without a single loss. Yet under Bompastor’s guidance, Chelsea have not only been invincible but they have also shattered the league’s all-time points record.
‘I’m only about titles but Sonia said she’s after the records so now so am I,’ said midfielder Erin Cuthbert.
It wasn’t always the most elegant football, but Chelsea delivered when it mattered most. In their six matches against fellow top-four teams Arsenal, Manchester United, and Manchester City, Chelsea emerged victorious every time. None of their rivals managed more than two such wins.
They clinched their sixth consecutive title with two games to spare at Leigh Sports Village ten days ago but the celebrations had been understandably muted – the triumph having been sealed somewhat unexpectedly and the 8–2 Champions League humbling by Barcelona still hanging in the air.
Aggie Beever-Jones stoppage time goals secured a record points total in the top-flight
Millie Bright lifted Chelsea’s sixth consecutive WSL title after the Blues finished unbeaten
Today, however, with the sun shining on west London, the moment finally came for Chelsea to celebrate a perfect domestic league campaign in front of their own fans.
And for Bompastor, it was a just reward for the sacrifice that she, a mother of four, puts into her job.
‘I had goosebumps because behind the scenes (my kids) cry because I am travelling and not home, so sometimes it is difficult,’ she said.
‘But they understand my job and it’s even better when they can share these moments with me because they know exactly what it means to us.
‘For them to have the opportunity to come onto the pitch and celebrate with the players, I think they realise how lucky they are. These moments are the best thing you can give to your kids.’
The match itself was anticlimactic. Liverpool, playing for pride and a position in the top half of the table, defended well and limited Chelsea’s chances.
Liverpool gave the champions a guard of honour at Stamford Bridge before kick-off
Sonia Bompastor’s side set a record points tally in the WSL after beating Liverpool on Saturday
And with the clock ticking into extra time, substitute Ashley Lawrence managed to find the pass to break the deadlock, threading the ball through to Aggie Beever-Jones.
The 21-year-old Cobham graduate still had 30 yards of ground to cover but did so with the help of the fans in the Taylor Wessing stand sucking the ball towards the goal, as she beat Rachael Laws at her near post.
Beever-Jones is beginning to make a habit of stoppage-time winners against this team, having crushed Liverpool’s dreams of a first FA Cup final with her 94th-minute strike here last month.
As for the accolades that can still come Chelsea’s way, there’s a domestic treble still up for grabs. Possible? Highly.
