Emma Hayes’ last season at Chelsea seems doomed to disappointment, with their hopes of winning the Women’s Super League title slowly fading away.
Chelsea is now clinging to their hopes of securing a fifth consecutive Women’s Super League title after a sensational 4-3 loss to Liverpool, where Gemma Bonner scored a last-minute winning goal for the Reds.
Trailing leaders Manchester City by six points at Prenton Park with two games in hand, Chelsea had no room for errors but found themselves on the losing end of a gripping match.
The team started strong, taking the lead through Agnes Beever-Jones’ header, with a goal from Catarina Macario disallowed due to a narrow offside ruling. Yet, Liverpool equalized early in the second half with a header from Sophie Haug off Marie-Therese Hobinger’s corner.
The Reds pulled ahead for the first time after Bonner redirected another Hobinger corner at the near post, but Chelsea leveled the score at 2-2 with Beever-Jones finding the net after Niamh Charles drew Teagan Micah out of position.
Despite expectations of building on this, Liverpool swiftly went ahead again in less than a minute as Leanne Kiernan capitalized on Ceri Holland’s pass to score. Chelsea equalized once more when Macario’s shot deflected off Micah, only to fall prey to a sucker punch as Bonner converted yet another corner to give Hayes a slim chance of securing a farewell title.
Following their exit from the Women’s Champions League at the hands of Barcelona, Hayes’ hopes had been pinned on a spirited performance in this match. However, Chelsea lost control in a tumultuous game after halftime, suffering a rare defeat in a league game where they had led at halftime for the first time since September 2022, during a previous loss to Liverpool.
Previously eyeing a quadruple, Chelsea now face an uphill battle to retain their title, needing Manchester City to suffer a drastic collapse given their superior goal difference. Just one more victory could see City clinch the title, leaving Chelsea with a tough challenge ahead.
