Chelsea’s pursuit of the WSL title concludes, as a dominant Man City delivers a significant message.
MANCHESTER, England — Although history suggests that a league title cannot be secured in February, Manchester City’s recent triumph in the Women’s Super League (WSL) has undoubtedly made their crowning this season seem inevitable.
This sentiment was palpable within the Etihad Stadium as the outstanding Kerolin scored her second goal of the match during a 5-1 victory over Chelsea, the team that has dominated the league for the past six seasons. The Brazil international fell to the ground and was quickly surrounded by her jubilant teammates, while City manager Andrée Jeglertz, typically composed on the sidelines, celebrated exuberantly with his coaching staff.
By the time Kerolin completed her hat trick just nine minutes into the second half, it was clear that this was a display befitting champions in the making. City now holds an 11-point advantage at the top of the WSL and is 12 points ahead of third-placed Chelsea. This marks the lowest position Chelsea has occupied in the WSL since the conclusion of the 2018-19 season, when they finished third behind Arsenal and City. Following that disappointment, Chelsea responded by clinching six consecutive top-flight titles, but their aspirations to extend that impressive streak this season have been severely undermined after Sunday’s stunning defeat in East Manchester.
Even before the match commenced at the Etihad, Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor recognized the challenge her team faced in trying to re-enter the title race. After last weekend’s loss to Arsenal, she acknowledged that defending their title was “probably over,” a sentiment that resonated even more strongly when Kerolin’s half-volley deflected into the Chelsea net just 13 minutes into the match.
The visitors reacted positively to the early setback, with Keira Walsh and Erin Cuthbert forcing goalkeeper Ayaka Yamashita into two impressive saves in quick succession. However, City successfully weathered the Chelsea pressure and were rewarded when the prolific Khadija “Bunny” Shaw outmuscled Naomi Girma to score her 14th WSL goal of the season just before halftime.
With nothing to lose in the second half, Chelsea pushed forward in an effort to reduce the deficit, only to find themselves quickly trailing 3-0 after Kerolin broke free from her own half and delicately lobbed the ball over Hannah Hampton. The 26-year-old was celebrating again just five minutes later, having tapped in from close range to secure her first hat trick for City.
Kerolin has now either scored or assisted in each of her last six WSL matches and has the highest minutes-per-goal involvement rate of any player in the league this season. It is no surprise, then, that she received a standing ovation when she was substituted shortly after the hour mark.
Chelsea did manage to score a consolation goal through a brilliant finish from Alyssa Thompson, but any hopes of a remarkable comeback were quickly extinguished when Vivianne Miedema headed in from a corner in the 72nd minute.
This goal marked Chelsea’s heaviest WSL defeat in over seven years, since a 5-0 loss to Arsenal in October 2018. Additionally, it is the first time the Blues have suffered back-to-back league defeats since July 2015, with Bompastor experiencing consecutive losses in all competitions for the first time in her managerial career (181 games).
“I think for me after having this tough result it’s difficult to talk about the title race,” she stated in her post-match press conference. “I said before the game and I still have the same mindset; we just focus on ourselves.
“As you can see, the result is tough but there are reasons to explain that. The staff and the players have to stay together and understand where we are, what we need to do to get back to the position we were in last season. A lot of things could be said. Sometimes I like to keep that more private between the board and the players. The squad is not the same as last season.
“A lot of people talk about Chelsea as being an example in terms of having depth in the squad and a lot of different profiles who can make a big impact when they come in the game, and I think now probably we are not in that place.”
Bompastor is correct to highlight that Chelsea’s injury issues have significantly impacted their performance in recent weeks, while the club’s advancement to the knockout stages of the UEFA Women’s Champions League has resulted in a heavier workload for her squad compared to City, who did not qualify for European competition this season. Nonetheless, this does not diminish the excellence of Jeglertz’s team, who, after a decade-long wait, now appear ready to reclaim the WSL title.
“I think that is very difficult to say,” Jeglertz remarked when asked if his team already has one hand on the trophy. “We showed today that we are definitely a team with great confidence. We are able to win games in different ways and play against a good team in Chelsea.
“The pressure is there from [the media], saying that we’ve won the league, and the team is coming out and handling it marvelously … This belief the team has at the moment that we will find a way to win is a thing we can use in the future also. We have a couple of games left of the season and we have a huge game coming up [against Arsenal] next week and what we have been good at so far is always seeing the next game coming up. That will definitely be the focus for the coming rounds also.”
Indeed, next weekend’s encounter at Emirates Stadium will serve as another test of the league leaders’ resolve, especially considering that Renee Slegers’ side defeated Chelsea at Stamford Bridge just last week. However, while there are still challenges for City to navigate, it now seems a matter of when — rather than if — they can successfully complete the task this season.
