Chelsea thump Bristol City 8-0 to take control of WSL fate after Man City slip-up

Chelsea made sure to make the most of Manchester City’s late capitulation to Arsenal in the Women’s Super League title race as their 8-0 victory over Bristol City saw them take firm control of their WSL title destiny.

If this really was to be the end of Emma Hayes at Chelsea, a final day showdown feels far more appropriate than a premature towel throw-in. Hayes’ comments following the Blues’ chaotic 4-3 Liverpool defeat declaring that a fifth Women’s Super League title wasn’t Chelsea’s to win sounded as uncharacteristic as the spectre of Hayes walking away from a season without at least one trophy in hand.

And after Manchester City’s last-gasp defeat to Arsenal on Sunday afternoon, along with a stunning four goals from Guro Reiten and more from Sjoeke Nusken, Aggie Beever-Jones and Niamh Charles, the fate of the WSL title race looks to have tilted in the direction of the reigning league champions despite the mid-week nadir.

There is still vital work to be done. Chelsea must defeat Tottenham Hotspur (their game in hand) on 15 May and hope they do so by a significant scoreline to keep their advantage. Chelsea’s final day clash against Manchester United is as tantalising as it is challenging, especially given it arrives just three days after their derby with Spurs.

But City must take on Aston Villa who will be saying goodbye to their beloved manager Carla Ward and will want to mark the occasion with a win.

Sunday’s clash with Bristol City called for a substantial scoreline regardless of the hopeful permutations inspired by City’s loss earlier in the day. Sunday evening marked the end of eras: manager Hayes’ final home match at Kingsmeadow after 12 seasons at the helm, and legend Fran Kirby’s final home match of her glittering tenure in the blue of Chelsea.

Guro Reiten scored four goals to put the title race in Chelsea’s hands

The fact that City left the door technically ajar for a dramatic comeback to mark Hayes’ final season in the WSL gave the occasion that little extra dash of stardust and gun powder. And Reiten, unplayable for the entire contest, supplied the flame. The Norway international opened the scoring with just six minutes on the clock from the penalty spot. Nusken doubled the advantage less than 20 minutes later after a fraught goal-mouth scramble.

But it was a ruthless second-half display which put Chelsea firmly back in the driver’s seat in a title race all but declared over hours earlier. Beever-Jones grabbed the third shortly after the restart as the England starlet made the most of some listless defending from the visitors. Four minutes later, Reiten seized her second with a thunderous strike from deep, an effort she celebrated with a roar and slap of the badge.

Aggie Beever-Jones celebrates scoring for Chelsea

Reiten’s hat-trick arrived minutes later (her first for the club) with another strike as venomous as it was splendid. Chelsea continued to hunt for more, with Niamh Charles getting in on the action before Reiten secured a fourth of the night and the Blues’ seventh.

But drawing themselves level with City’s goal difference was never going to be enough, and with two minutes of regular time to spare, Reiten fizzed a cross into the box which is headed away but rebounds straight into Beever-Jones and bounces beyond the keeper.

Gleeful shouts of ‘We want nine’ began to echo around Kingsmeadow. But despite another cross blatantly smacking off the hand of a Bristol City defender who was marking Kirby, the Blues were forced to settle with eight and the title race firmly in the palm of their hand.

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