Chelsea Women avoid heartbreak, win the FAWSL title

The Chelsea FC Women secure a place in history and another trophy to add to their cabinet with their latest league triumph.

Move over Arsenal, London has yet another invincible season. The Chelsea FC Women finished the FA Women’s Super League season unbeaten with 12 wins and three draws in 15 matches. The Blues are one of two English women’s sides to finish the season with no losses, Aston Villa—the FA Women’s Championship champion—is the other.

Chelsea was awarded the 2019/20 FAWSL title on a points-per-game basis. The Blues have been nervously waiting for a title decision since the season was officially cancelled on May 25. This is Chelsea’s third FAWSL trophy since 2015, the first season the Blues won the league.

When the league was stopped due to Coronavirus, Chelsea sat in second, one-point behind Manchester City. However, the Blues had a game in hand. There was a lot of speculation surrounding the title and how the FA would handle the trophy. The suggestions on how to end the season got as creative as can be, but nothing seemed to be perfectly fair.

The most just way of deciding the title would’ve obviously been to finish out the year, but the FA felt it was in the best interest of the women’s game to cancel the season. In the end, the best solution decided the standings; points-per-game.

Chelsea, Man City and Arsenal separated themselves from the rest of the league as the title race was as close as ever. The Blues took four points from second place Man City this season and did a league double over Arsenal, who finished third. Take into account the fact that Chelsea also went unbeaten, there was no way to give the title to anyone else.

The Women’s Super League trophy is the second piece of hardware Chelsea won this season. Right before the fixtures came to a halt, the Blues beat Arsenal 2-1 in yet another final, this time for the Continental Tyres Cup.

The title victory means the Blues—who have established themselves as one of the world’s premier women’s sides—make a triumphant return to the UEFA Women’s Champions League. Over the course of the last few seasons, Chelsea has found itself on the cusp of the competition’s final, but has fallen in the semifinals twice. Now, with a strengthened squad, the Blues will get another crack at European glory.

Although it is not how anybody wanted the season to end, Chelsea came out on top. Congratulations are in order for the Blues as Emma Hayes’ side looks ahead to next season, where it will try to create more magic and history.