Chelsea finish WSL season unbeaten after late winner
Chelsea concluded their unbeaten WSL season with a narrow 1-0 win over Liverpool on an action-packed final day. It had been a stalemate at Stamford Bridge until Aggie Beever-Jones stepped up in the 91st minute with a composed strike to win it. As a result, the Blues became the first team to hit the 60-point mark in the WSL and the first to go invincible in a 22-game league season.
“All through the season I said this league is really competitive,” said the Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor. “I was talking to my assistant coaches and told them that we need to enjoy the moment because being able to join a new club, in a new country, is a big achievement. We’ve been unbeaten in the season, that is a really great achievement because every game was tough, even though for some people that is difficult to believe, but even today we found the goal in the last minute to win.”
Over at the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal won the battle for second place with a dramatic 4-3 victory over Manchester United. Chloe Kelly was on the scoresheet within the opening two minutes after pouncing on an uncharacteristic error from United goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce. Ella Toone then equalised with a header from close range. Three goals in quick succession from Mariona Caldentey, Frida Maanum and Kim Little put the hosts into a commanding lead just after half-time, but they were given quite the scare in the final stages. Elisabeth Terland and Maya Le Tissier got two goals back for United, taking it down to the wire. However, Arsenal were able to hold off late pressure to secure the win.
Manchester City came from behind to defeat already-relegated Crystal Palace 5-2 following an early scare at the Joie Stadium. The visitors took a shock lead after just four minutes through Ashleigh Weerden. Kerolin cancelled out the strike shortly after, but Mille Gejl restored Palace’s advantage on the stroke of half-time. City came out firing after the break and a goal from Jill Roord, along with a Rebecca Knaak brace and another strike from Kerolin, helped claim the win.
Leicester concluded their campaign with an impressive 4-2 win over West Ham at the King Power Stadium. The hosts were 2-0 up by half-time thanks to goals from Janice Cayman and Hannah Cain, but Viviane Asseyi got one back for West Ham in the 57th minute. It didn’t take long for Cain to restore the two-goal cushion with her second. Asseyi fired home just four minutes later to give Leicester another fright, but Sam Tierney helped to calm the nerves by making it four to the hosts. The win was enough to lift Leicester above Tottenham and into 10th.
Aston Villa bounced back from last weekend’s loss to West Ham with a 3-1 win over Brighton at Villa Park. Natalia Arroyo’s side cruised through the match following an early goal from Ebony Salmon. Rachel Daly made it two just before half-time and Maz Pacheco scored the third to mark her final appearance for the club. Nikita Parris was helped in scoring a late consolation by a mistake from Sabrina D’Angelo.
And finally, Spurs’ miserable season came to an end with a 1-1 draw against Everton. Spurs found themselves 1-0 down courtesy of an 11th-minute free kick from Veatriki Sarri, but Drew Spence fired them level on the half-hour mark. The result left Spurs 11th in the table.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chelsea Women | 22 | 43 | 60 |
| 2 | Arsenal Women | 22 | 36 | 48 |
| 3 | Man Utd Women | 22 | 25 | 44 |
| 4 | Man City Women | 22 | 21 | 43 |
| 5 | Brighton & Hove Albion Women | 22 | -6 | 28 |
| 6 | Aston Villa Women | 22 | -12 | 25 |
| 7 | Liverpool FC Women | 22 | -15 | 25 |
| 8 | Everton Women | 22 | -8 | 24 |
| 9 | West Ham Women | 22 | -5 | 23 |
| 10 | Leicester Women | 22 | -16 | 20 |
| 11 | Tottenham Hotspur Women | 22 | -18 | 20 |
| 12 | Crystal Palace Women | 22 | -45 | 10 |
Here’s Suzanne Wrack’s match report from the Emirates Stadium…
