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The WSL title race has some juice in it

Story byThe WSL title race has some juice in itMegan FeringaMon, December 8, 2025 at 5:31 AM UTC·5 min readSomewhere, vigils are being lit and someone is having to explain to Chelsea midfielder Wieke Kaptein and head coach Sonia Bompastor what the word “loss” means. And think of the Women’s Super League (WSL) admin having to clear the gorge of scheduled posts about Chelsea’s record 35-match unbeaten run in the WSL. Yes, Chelsea have lost their first match in 19 months, a run that stretches back to the final three matches of the triumphant 2024-25 season, and the first since Bompastor succeeded Emma Hayes last September, all thanks to Honoka Hayashi’s left foot securing a 1-0 win for Everton. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIt is a wildly incomprehensible stretch of time and dominance that for so long epitomised the soul of the reigning league champions: a transcendent kind of strength that simply did not entertain the idea their run could ever be broken. What does losing even mean?Well, for now, it means Chelsea — having dropped nine points in their opening 10 WSL matches, seven in their last three — are six points off league leaders Manchester City, who defeated Leicester City 3-0 on Sunday. Before going any further, there’s a danger here in overhyping this defeat as something more than it is: the demise of a league record, yes; a first loss of the Bompastor era, sure; a potential acquiesce of those title race keys to City, maybe; but also one defeat in *counts in fingers and toes* a stupidly long time. At some point, the sun sets.

The WSL title race has some juice in it

The WSL title race has some juice in it

Credit: Yahoo

Key Highlights

  • Dynasties crumble.
  • Everton make 87 clearances and keep a clean sheet to your detriment. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBut Chelsea’s performance in front of goal has been poor a number of times this season, with the eight-time champions regularly a team huffing and puffing in the final third yet ultimately struggling to produce any clear-cut chances. The answer to why or how Chelsea’s unbeaten run came to a stuttering halt is not complex. Chelsea Women in WSL since 2022-23Season  Goals  Expected goals  Games played  2025/20261621.09102024/20255648.69222023/20247159.81222022/20236645.6222In the previous three seasons that Chelsea have gone on to win the title, they have outperformed their xG — 56 goals scored from an xG of 48.69 in 2024-25; 71 scored from an xG of 59.81 in 2023-24; 66 scored from an xG of 45.62 in 2022-23 — according to Opta. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementSo far in this season’s 10 matches, Chelsea have scored just 16 goals from an xG of 21.09, according to Opta.
  • Only in the 2-1 win over Manchester City (xG of 1.33) and the 4-0 win against West Ham United (xG of 2.85) have Chelsea outperformed their xG in a game. In their last three matches (1-1 draw with Arsenal, 1-1 draw with Liverpool, and 1-0 defeat to Everton), only against Arsenal did they manage an xG higher than 2.
  • Against Liverpool and Everton respectively, their xGs were 1.11 and 1.51.
  • In the 1-1 draw with Liverpool, they managed just one shot on target from nine attempts. Despite rallying 30 shots at Brosnan’s goal on Sunday, Chelsea managed to put only six on target, with another four smacking the woodwork.
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Sources

  1. The WSL title race has some juice in it

This quick summary is automatically generated using AI based on reports from multiple news sources. The content has not been reviewed or verified by humans. For complete details, accuracy, and context, please refer to the original published articles.

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