Shubi Arun
Jan 24, 2026, 03:51 PM
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Chelsea's hope of winning the WSL is dwindling after losing to Arsenal. Getty
LONDON -- Chelsea boss Sonia Bompastor has conceded that the Women's Super League (WSL) title race is "probably gone" after her side's home defeat to Arsenal.
The west London side were sunk by an inspired Beth Mead showing as she scored one and set up another to lead Arsenal to their first away win at Chelsea since 2018.
The result presents Manchester City with the opportunity to go nine points clear of second-place Chelsea at the top of the table should they beat London City Lionesses on Sunday.
Bompastor's side went unbeaten on their way to a sixth successive league title last season, but with just nine games left in the season, she is aware that her side's hold on the title is now dangerously precarious.
"Today we understand the situation, we know the title race is probably gone, but our mentality is to fight until the very end. We will never give up. Now we have to focus on getting points and staying in that second position and doing the best we can," she told BBC Sport post-match.
"There is a big gap and if City win tomorrow then the gap is nine points. They are in control and if they perform at their best it will be a difficult gap to close," she added.
"My job is to make sure I lift everyone up and we take the learnings and we go into the next game ready to perform. We will have one or two days really low but we will have a good conversation, as usual, and from that everyone will be lifted."
While Arsenal's title hopes had effectively ended before Saturday's win, their showing could serve as a launchpad for the second half of their campaign. The Gunners shrugged off the disappointment of their midweek League Cup semifinal exit to Manchester United and played with a resilience that felt reminiscent of their Champions League-winning campaign last year.
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"When the moment is there for this team, when it really, really, really has to happen, they do it every single time and so there's a lot of strength in this team in those moments," Arsenal boss Renee Slegers told a news conference post-match.
"I think what was one of our strengths today was going into the game with a lot of clarity and they kept that going during the game as well.
"I think they had very clear minds which had them make good decisions and had them stay in the moment focused on the task and they did that well."