Courage, confidence, conviction: how Chelsea won a third straight WSL title

After Chelsea had endured a 3-2 defeat against their title rivals Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on the opening weekend of the Women’s Super League season in September, Emma Hayes was frustrated at the goals conceded but remained in relaxed mood. “The league isn’t won or lost in one game,” she said. “It’s important we quickly focus on the next one.”

Hayes was stating the obvious. However, in a league which has struggled to find competitiveness from top to bottom, instances of the traditional top three of Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal dropping points against any other club have been a rarity.

Instead, in a league of 12 teams and only 22 fixtures, the games between that triumvirate have often been critical to the destination of the trophy. Not so much this season. The pattern of this campaign has been different and Chelsea’s path to a third consecutive title has been far more chequered.

OK, “far more” may be an exaggeration. Last season Chelsea lost once and drew three times on the way to 57 points. In the Covid-stunted 2019-20 season they were unbeaten, collecting three draws on the way to a title awarded on the basis of points-per-game. This season has not been hugely different, with Hayes’s side losing twice and drawing twice to finish on 56 points.

In the 12 seasons of the WSL (including the mini Spring Series that slotted in as the Football Association shifted the league from summer to winter), championship-winning teams have endured defeats against teams outside the traditional top three just five times.

Chelsea’s record against the club’s main rivals in the five seasons they have won the league has also been remarkably consistent, with Hayes’s side losing only twice, against City in the Spring Series and at