Manchester City opened up an 11-point lead at the top of the Women’s Super League after defeating defending champions Chelsea 5-1 at the Etihad.
The result all but ends Chelsea’s bid to retain the title, making them the furthest away from the top since the final day of the 2018-19 season when Arsenal were crowned champions.
It’s a sign of disappointment for Sonia Bompastre’s side, who won the title undefeated last season. After the loss, the head coach said of her future, “If they think it’s right, I’m happy to go.”
City, led by Andrii Zieglercs, have won 13 games in a row, crushing their rivals in a way usually alien to teams like Chelsea. The visiting team packed the midfield, but lost an astonishing number of head-to-head matches, conceding every chance they had. There were holes in the defense everywhere.
Kerorin deflected a shot from the second phase of a corner kick and slotted it past Hannah Hampton and through Ellie Carpenter for City’s first goal. The second goal followed a turnover in midfield and was scored by Viv Miedema, who fed Bunny Shaw to score his 107th goal in 125 appearances for City.
Khadijah Shaw also scored as Manchester City beat nearest rivals Manchester United by 11 points.
And City weren’t done yet. Kerorin scored two more goals after the break, both on the counter to complete her hat-trick, but her breakneck pace did not suit both Millie Bright and Naomi Girma. After Alyssa Thompson scored a nice tying goal, Miedema nodded home Kerstin Kasparigi’s corner.
The scoreline is emblematic of the rift within the day’s class and in the wider WSL title race, with City on track to win their first title in 10 years, while the Blues are currently stuck in third place. By the way, the last time Chelsea lost consecutive league games was over 10 years ago. Bompastor’s side was already at a disadvantage – indeed, they were now completely out of pursuit.
Does Chelsea lack depth? Bompastor thinks so…
Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastre:
“It’s difficult to talk about the title fight because it’s a tough result. I still have the same mindset. We have to focus on ourselves. The result is tough, but there are reasons to explain it. We need to come together and understand where we are, what we should focus on and how much we need to work to get back to a better position.”
“A lot can be said. I would like to say something more private to the board, the players and the staff. As you can see, the team is not the same as last season. A lot of people talk about Chelsea being an example in terms of having depth in the team and different profiles that can influence the game, but perhaps we are not in that position at the moment. I’m not saying it explains everything.”
“As a coach, I will take care of the results of this team. I also need to focus on what solutions I can bring to make this team better.”
Mr. Jegratz is speechless at the “amazing” performance
Asked if Man City had the WSL trophy in their hands, manager Andrii Jegrats said: “It’s very difficult to say. Today we showed that we are a team with great confidence. We can win games in many different ways. The pressure is also from everyone and the team is handling it well. The team has the belief that we will find a way to win and we can use that for the future. We are always looking at the next game and that is our focus.”
“I’m very happy. In the circle afterwards, it was the first time I was like, ‘Actually, I don’t know what to say.’ I’m proud. Seeing the players smiling and enjoying the game, there was a feeling that people expected of us, and we did it. It’s amazing.”
“We created so many chances. The challenge is to find a way to create chances, whether you have the ball or not. We dominated the game and there were definitely some goals between both teams.”
