Chelsea have secured the 2023-24 Women’s Super League (WSL) title, clinching top spot on goal difference in a dramatic finale to the season.
Chelsea add yet another Women’s Super League trophy to their illustrious collection.
The Blues celebrated their sixth consecutive league crown after overcoming Manchester United on Wednesday evening, securing the title with two matches still to play.
Notably, this is the first time in five years that the championship outcome has been settled ahead of the final day.
But were Chelsea truly dominant this season, and how does this title compare with their previous campaigns? BBC Sport analyses the trends behind their continued success.
Following a transformative era under Emma Hayes, Sonia Bompastor has seamlessly extended Chelsea’s dominance in English women’s football.
Chelsea have now captured six straight WSL titles and nine overall — triple the number of any other club in the league’s history.
Bompastor has enjoyed an impressive start to her tenure, with her side crafting a record-breaking 20-match unbeaten run in a single WSL season.
Excluding the inaugural campaign in 2011, Bompastor is the first manager to win the WSL title at the first attempt.
The WSL’s invincibles? Chelsea set sights on new milestones after clinching another crown
Chelsea have finished a WSL season unbeaten just once in the past five years.
That achievement came in the 2019-20 term, which was curtailed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Having completed only 15 matches, Chelsea were awarded the title based on points per game.
Should Chelsea avoid defeat against Tottenham and Liverpool in their final fixtures, they would become the first club to finish an unbeaten season twice, after going 18 without loss in 2017-18.
Manchester City (2016) and Arsenal (2012) have also gone undefeated in a WSL campaign, though at that time teams played only 16 and 14 games respectively.
Two more wins would elevate Chelsea to 60 points, surpassing the 58 achieved under Hayes in 2022-23 and setting a new WSL points record.
While scoring 54 goals in 20 matches underscores their attacking ability, Chelsea have not matched the scoring rates of previous years.
Unless they net at least eight more goals in their remaining fixtures, the club will record its lowest seasonal tally since the Covid-affected 2019-20 campaign, when they scored 47.
Chelsea are renowned for commanding performances, yet this season has often required resilience and narrow victories.
Last season, the Blues won 13 matches by a margin of at least three goals; this term, only six wins have come by such margins.
Indeed, Bompastor’s side have ended eight matches with a one-goal victory, compared to just two one-goal wins from 18 triumphs under Hayes last season.
Late heroics have played a part, too: nearly a third of Chelsea’s goals have been scored in the final 15 minutes, as opposed to just 9% coming in the opening quarter of games.
Come-from-behind performances have been critical, with Chelsea earning eight points from losing positions — trailing only Manchester City’s 10.
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