Chelsea manager Emma Hayes signs off in style, as the Blues become one of several teams across Europe to retain their title
Until the last day of March, Emma Hayes had been hoping to sign off on a remarkable 12 years as manager of Chelsea with the quadruple, something only previously accomplished in the English game by Arsenal in 2007, when she was assistant manager to Vic Akers.
By the first day of May, though, it looked as if she would be heading to the US national team this summer off the back of a rare trophyless season. Beset by injuries, Chelsea had lost the League Cup final to Arsenal, the FA Cup semi-final to Manchester United and the Champions League semi-final to Barcelona, and a 4-3 defeat at Liverpool left them trailing Manchester City in the Women’s Super League with two fixtures left.
Four days later, Arsenal’s Stina Blackstenius scored in the 89th and 92nd minutes at City to inflict a shock defeat and Chelsea were back in the box seat. They subsequently thrashed Bristol City 8-0 and Manchester United 6-0 to take the title – their fifth in succession – on goal difference.
Arsenal, in third, claimed the other Champions League qualifying spot. Manchester United had the notable consolation of a first trophy, winning the FA Cup thanks to a 4-0 defeat of Tottenham Hotspur in front of 76,082 in the Wembley final. That earned Marc Skinner a contract extension, despite some unrest in the support base after a fifth-placed league finish.
In Spain, Barcelona also won a fifth title on the spin, but rather more easily.
A 7-0 win over Athletic Club wrapped things up with three matches to spare and, at that point, only two points dropped in 27 matches. They followed up by beating Real Sociedad 8-0 in the Copa de la Reina final watched by 25,617 in Zaragoza. Real Madrid took second place in the league.
Bayern Munich successfully defended the Frauen Bundesliga title, a 4-0 win at Wolfsburg in March in front of 24,437 effectively sealing a title that was confirmed with two matches to spare. Wolfsburg were second with Eintracht Frankfurt also qualifying for Europe.
Bayern will be favourites again next season having already secured the transfer of Wolfsburg’s best player, Lena Oberdorf.
The Lady Wolves, however, hit back in the cup final,
