Ruthless Chelsea's 4th straight WSL crown was unquestionably the toughest of all
Two weeks ago after Chelsea won the FA Cup Emma Hayes revealed her young son Harry, 5, was getting into the Beatles and had his favourite tune.
"He likes 'Yellow Submarine'," she said after the win over Man Utd at Wembley. "But we love dancing around to 'Love Me Do'. But a fortnight later after a fourth straight WSL title was also in the bag, perhaps 'A Hard Day's Night' would have been more appropriate to play on the ride home from Reading?
Whatever was on the jukebox, both were basking in the Berkshire sunshine with the league trophy after the Royals were beaten 3-0 on Saturday afternoon. Hayes the manager could finally relax, Hayes the mother could now take centre stage. The third double in a row was in the bag, but was it always inevitable? No.
Make no mistake, this title has been very, very hard to win for the champions. A slog. A grind.
Any casual observer of the women's game could glance at the results, the final table and see Chelsea had once again finished top of the pile. Perhaps they would deduce that the the WSL is an uncompetitive league, a show with only one star act. Yet this simply isn't the case.
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All of the four title triumphs have gone right to the wire, including the latest. The last three seasons have all only been settled on the final day of the campaign. The previous title was decided on point-per-game when Covid-19 rudely interrupted a thrilling season, Chelsea were just 0.10 ahead of Man City on PPG to claim the crown.
Twelve months ago, in 2021-22 the Blues were admittedly top of the table for long periods of the season. But they were losing to Man Utd on the final day, a result which looked to be sending the title Arsenal's way. A Sam Kerr-inspired fightback saved the day for Hayes' team - but once again it was a league decided by the barest of margins.
Although this final day was far less dramatic, as Chelsea never looked like losing once Guro Reiten made it 2-0 not long before half-time, this year was even closer. This championship battle was a grade one race with four thoroughbred contenders.
Millie Bright and Sam Kerr of Chelsea kiss the Barclays Women's Super League trophyMan Utd will be rightly proud of a memorable season, leading the table for most of the way, with Marc Skinner's team doing the double over Arsenal and beating Man City. But two defeats to Chelsea proved costly as they came up two points short.
Arsenal may well have edged the race had they avoided so many damaging injuries, and showed their quality when dismantling the Blues in the Continental Cup final.
Meanwhile, City put up a huge fight after last summer's transfer upheaval. It was their defeat of the Blues at the Academy Stadium back in March that set-up the final two months perfectly and Gareth Taylor's team probably won't get the credit they deserve for what they've brought to the table.
Throughout it all though, Chelsea were motoring away in the background. Quietly, ruthlessly, efficiently - finding ways to win when not at the best, something Hayes said after the FA Cup final is "always the marker of a great team."
They were left stunned by an opening day away defeat at newly-promoted Liverpool that no-one predicted. But, despite the worst start possible, the gaffer stayed cool: "I've been here before and we just chalk it off and go again," she said.
Hayes underwent an emergency hysterectomy in October and missed a month on the touchline. Yet the Chelsea machine kept grinding away in the background. Aston Villa were swept aside, before a win away to Man Utd that proved critical.
Injuries came to key players like Pernille Harder, Fran Kirby and Millie Bright, yet the Blues never panicked. When they were well beaten in the Conti Cup final by Arsenal, they hit back hard, with two huge wins in four days against Brighton and title rivals Man Utd, the latter courtesy of a brilliant Sam Kerr finish.
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Sam Kerr's winner against Man Utd in March was the biggest moment in the title race (Getty Images)"I always expected it go the last day," Hayes said. "Be we were always chasing, we had games called off. We had to fit it into a relentless calendar from March onwards, but this team likes a lot of games."
And it was in that home straight her side pressed the accelerator, thrashing Everton and Leicester before overcoming the final huge hurdle against Arsenal last week. Once Reiten put them two up against Reading on the final day, the race was ran. It was fitting that Reiten, Chelsea's Player of the Season, scored twice across the final two games with the ever reliable Sam Kerr also getting in on the act.
The last act may have been serene, one of the most comfortable wins of this season. But this has been a scrap from the get go.
Chelsea have come out the other side and for that, deserve great credit.
Now, it is time for the squad and staff to be "human again" as Hayes put it. For her this means spending more time with her young son and not even thinking about going for number five next year.
"He (son Harry) has had to come to work with me and he doesn't want to come," she added. He's the most important thing in my life and he comes first today, hands down.
"He was five this week and I can't spend too much of that time away from him. This profession is anti-social, we all know that... you have to put the most important things in life first. Life is just as important as football."
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