Chelsea target unbeaten season after 'perfect' day

Chelsea defender Lucy Bronze has stated that after defeating title rivals Arsenal, the team has solidified their lead in the Women's Super League standings and they "hope to go unbeaten this season." This season, the Blues have won 11 out of 12 matches in the Women's Super League, have successfully advanced to the knockout stages of the Women's Champions League, reached the semi-finals of the Women's League Cup, and will participate in the fifth round of the Women's FA Cup.

Head coach Sonia Bompastor has remained undefeated in all competitions since taking over from Emma Hayes in the summer. "We are aiming to win four trophies, which is difficult," Bronze told BBC Radio 5 Live after their 1-0 victory against Arsenal. This win temporarily extended their lead at the top of the Women's Super League to nine points, although Manchester United's victory on Sunday night reduced that advantage to seven points. She added, "We want to get enough points before the busy period in March, April, and May, when we might drop points, but we are in good form now and we are on the up. We hope to go unbeaten this season."

Bronze also stated, "There are records waiting for us to break. Chelsea has always been a team that wants to do that. We have never won the Champions League. We have won five league titles in a row, but going unbeaten would be incredible. We are working towards that." Chelsea had previously gone unbeaten in the Women's Super League twice, in the 2017-18 and 2019-20 seasons, while Arsenal also achieved this feat in the 2012-13 season. In modern football history, the only English team to go unbeaten in all competitions was Arsenal in 2006-2007 when they won the quadruple.

While Chelsea are hoping to replicate that achievement, Bompastor was quick to point out that despite their healthy lead in the Women's Super League, they have "not won anything yet." She said, "(Going unbeaten) is not something I'm currently thinking about. I'm really happy with the result. As you saw in the game, it's really fine margins. These performances are all on the edge. It can go either way, but it went our way, and I'm very happy about that. We just want to take it game by game and make sure we make the right decisions to get good results. We are far away from winning anything."

At the final whistle, Chelsea's players and staff celebrated, and Bompastor revealed that she gave them an extra day off after a "perfect" afternoon. Before the match, the club announced the signing of women's world record signing, Naomi Girma, and fans also left Stamford Bridge with excitement. "It was a perfect afternoon in terms of the announcement and the result. It's good news for all Chelsea fans," said Bompastor. "I would say, psychologically, (this win) is definitely big, but you know we have a lot of games to play. The Champions League is coming in March, and we will have to play very important games. It’s not easy. If we keep the right mentality, if we have almost all the players available, then yes, we are in a good place—but you never know what happens in football."

While Chelsea's quadruple hopes are growing, this defeat has all but ended Arsenal's Women's Super League title challenge. Facing a 10-point gap, head coach Renee Slegers admitted it is a "bigger challenge" but still held onto a glimmer of hope. She added, "We are very aware of that. We made some mistakes at the beginning of the season, and you never know when other teams will make mistakes. We will keep playing and winning games, and that's all we can do. We know that if we want to keep the fire alive in the title race, it was important for us to win games, and we didn't do that—but you never know what the future will bring."

The defeat was an unfamiliar feeling for Slegers, who had been unbeaten in 13 matches in all competitions since taking over from Jonas Eidevall. First as interim and now as permanent head coach, Slegers has steadied the ship, and Arsenal had built momentum ahead of their trip to London on Sunday. While disappointed with the result, Slegers stated she saw many positive signs for the future. "Of course, I'm very happy with the unbeaten run until now, not losing any game. That says something about where we are as a team," said Slegers. "I just think we played against a top team, it was a very tight game, and it could have gone either way. We have a strong enough foundation. I feel that way, and I think the players feel that way. This doesn't define us. Of course, I'm disappointed because we wanted to win. I felt we were close enough to get something out of it, but we have to move on from here."