- Chelsea claimed a slender win to clinch the WSL title on Wednesday night
- Lucy Bronze’s late header earned victory for Sonia Bompastor’s side
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‘It’s always good to start with a win,’ Sonia Bompastor said after clinching a narrow victory against Aston Villa in her first game in charge of Chelsea last September.
It certainly looked like Bompastor enjoyed ending her first season in charge with a win too, as the French coach led Chelsea to a record sixth consecutive league title with two games to spare here at Leigh Sports Village after Arsenal unexpectedly lost to Aston Villa earlier in the evening.
And in a resounding warning sign to the rest of Europe, Bompastor warned that this was only the beginning.
‘I always want more from them and I’m never satisified,’ she said. ‘Even when we win, I’m already more focused on the treble and the FA Cup final. I’ll never give them five minutes to breathe – even if they’ll get two days off after this game!
‘I want to thank Emma (Hayes). I’m sure she’s really happy tonight with our title because she left the place the club in such a good position for me to build up on that legacy.
‘This club is ready to compete domestically. We’ll keep that for the future but also we want to make sure we compete for the Champions League as well.’
Chelsea secured their sixth consecutive Women’s Super League title with a 1-0 victory at Man United
Lucy Bronze’s late header was enough to give the Blues a title-clinching three points
Bompastor’s side travelled here with the gleam of their season somewhat tarnished after the weekend’s Champions League exploits – where they suffered a heavy beating at the hands of Barcelona in their third consecutive semi-final defeat to the Catalan giants, as their most coveted trophy evaded them once again.
But if Chelsea have discovered they’ve got a bogey team in Barcelona, then they’ve found in Manchester United a side who always seem to do them a favour.
In a strange quirk of coincidence – or incredibly unfortunate luck if you’re a Red – United have now been there to witness the Blues win the WSL title in front of them in three of the last four seasons, save for 2022–23: the year United were beaten by Hayes’ side in their first FA Cup final.
All eyes were on the Aston Villa-Arsenal match earlier in the evening, with the Blues knowing they only had to go one better than the Gunners to secure the title.
And as phones in the press area started to ping to show that Renee Slegers’ second-string side – rested after they found better luck in the Champions League – had let in five goals in Birmingham to eventually lose 5-2, the sense of anticipation here started to build, with only a point needed.
Sonia Bompastor made just two changes to the team that started against Barcelona three days ago, choosing her trusted – and weary – best XI. She was keen to get this one wrapped up and her team delivered.
‘To be able to come play an away game three days after the semi-final loss, you have to be really professional and mentally really strong,’ Bompastor said.
‘I think maybe some people think that because we’re Chelsea it’s really easy to do that, but it’s not. That’s something really important for the great teams – to be able to stay strong even when you have lows in the season. And that’s what we did.’
Sonia Bompastor’s dominant side will be celebrating after being crowned WSL champions
Manchester United were in no mood to roll over for the reigning champions.
Mayra Ramirez’s recent struggles in front of goal persisted in this game, and a period of discontent for the Colombian was capped off by an early departure before the half-hour mark with an injury.
On came Johanna Rytting Kaneryd in her place, the Swede taking up her natural right-wing position to push Aggie Beever-Jones into the centre of the Chelsea attacking line.
After a tetchy first half the game started to open up after the break.
Chelsea finally breached United’s formidable defence through a set-piece, and it came through none other than Lucy Bronze. The right-back rose highest and arrowed a header past Phallon Tullis-Joyce into the far-left corner.
United continued to seek a consolation with their boisterous crowd behind them, but Chelsea were too strong at the back.
They did what champions do – and saw it out until the very end.
