The WSL campaign went to the wire this season. Coming into the final day just one point separated league leaders Chelsea and second-place Arsenal. On the final day of the season, Chelsea Women hosted Manchester United, knowing that they only had to better Arsenal’s result away to West Ham United to win their third league title in a row and a fourth in five seasons. At half-time, the title was headed to Arsenal with Chelsea 2-1 down against Manchester United while Arsenal were level with West Ham. Some half time changes by Emma Hayes were exactly what Chelsea needed as they scored twice within the first five minutes of the second half to take the lead, they held on to the lead and even built on it through a Sam Kerr strike after the hour mark to win their third league title in a row.
Chelsea Women Retain WSL Title
Hot and Cold Season
At times this season Arsenal were runaway leaders in the WSL. As we entered the winter Chelsea were stuttering, dropping points in the league and tumbling out of the Champions League in embarrassing fashion. With the calendar turning to 2022 came a switch in form as Arsenal began to drop points while Chelsea sparked into life following a tactical move away from the 3-4-3 formation that wasn’t allowing the team to play at its best. As we headed into the final stretch of the season both sides remained neck and neck with each side winning every single league game following a 0-0 draw between the two sides in February, Chelsea doing so under the weight of government sanctions imposed on the team following Roman Abramovich having his assets frozen and deciding to sell the club.
Three In a Row
Despite the hardships, Chelsea have faced this season with the long-term absences of Fran Kirby and Melanie Leupolz they had enough quality to fight back in the second half of the season and win a third title in a row. With players like Ji So-Yun and Drew Spence set to leave there will be changes to the team before next season begins but the future of the team is safe in the hands of players like Sam Kerr and Guro Reiten.
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