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Chelsea’s record-breaking unbeaten run in the Women’s Super League was brought to an end with a shock result as Everton won away against the defending champions, who had not lost any of the previous 34 league matches.
Everton’s 1-0 victory inflicted Sonia Bompastor’s first defeat as a WSL manager after a remarkable 18 months in charge, and was Chelsea’s first loss in the league since going down 4-3 at Liverpool on 1 May 2024 when Emma Hayes was still at the helm.
Chelsea slipped six points behind the league leaders, Manchester City – 3-0 winners at Leicester – with 12 games remaining this season, leaving Bompastor’s side with significant ground to make up if they are to extend the club’s streak of six successive WSL titles.
Brian Sørensen’s Everton won the game through a 12th-minute goal from Honoka Hayashi, who tucked in a low finish at the far post as she met Toni Payne’s right-wing cross. Chelsea mounted attack after attack in response, having 18 corners while Everton had none, but the Merseyside club were able to hang on to a memorable victory.
It also briefly looked as though Manchester United were going to drop points in the title race too, after an acrobatic effort from Shekiera Martinez looped into the far corner and drew West Ham level at Leigh Sports Village, but Dominique Janssen’s free-kick earned the home side a 2-1 victory, after Elisabeth Terland had opened the scoring but turning in Anna Sandberg’s cross.
There was late drama as Tottenham beat Aston Villa 2-1 thanks to Olivia Holdt’s 95th-minute close-range finish, as they fought back against opponents down to 10 players despite falling behind on 84 minutes.
The Villa defender Océane Deslandes was sent off midway through the second half, before the visitors took the lead through Kirsty Hanson. Tottenham hit back within a minute when Beth England glanced home a header and the Norway winger Holdt fired home the winner in added time. It lifted Tottenham just two points behind second-placed Chelsea.
There was also a 1-0 victory for Brighton at London City Lionesses, as Kiko Seike’s clinical, sixth-minute finish won a match that the home side arguably had the better of otherwise.
