What Happened: Invincible Chelsea and the Team of the Season

Flo Lloyd-Hughes takes a look at some of the big stories in women's football and highlights the latest pieces to read on The Cutback

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Welcome to the latest edition of What Happened, The Cutback’s weekly newsletter that sums up some of the big stories from the weekend of women’s football.

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It has been a ridiculous week of women’s football news. So much so, that the Fifa Women’s World Cup expanding to 48 teams barely got a ripple of coverage. There is a lot to talk about this week and we covered plenty on Monday’s Counter Pressed, including the WSL’s rebrand. We also had Max Radwan and Conner Roberts’ analysis from the chaotic Arsenal-United game on the website yesterday. So, in the interest of keeping it slick on the newsletter, I’ll be focusing on Chelsea’s invincible title and my team of the season.

In today’s issue: Chelsea go unbeaten and a Team of the Season

Chelsea’s invincible moment

We had known for several weeks that Chelsea were WSL champions, but the final day of the season was about whether they could become the first side to go an entire WSL campaign unbeaten.

A 1-0 win over Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on Saturday sealed the deal. Not only have Chelsea claimed a sixth consecutive title, eighth overall, but they’ve done it without even losing a game. That’s 22 games that they have managed to avoid defeat. Around 2000 minutes of football they’ve played without losing a game. Just three draws and 13 goals conceded.

I’m sure the Arsenal fans among The Cutback readership will remember their men’s and women’s invincible campaigns. Such was Arsenal Women’s dominance in the 2000s, they didn’t lose a game for six years, going 108 games without defeat between 2003 and 2009.

That Arsenal men’s team that went unbeaten for 49 games and won the 2003-04 Premier League title is synonymous with that era of football. They automatically became league and club legends. Statues built at the Emirates, merchandise, memorabilia and even a registered trademark.

I think Chelsea’s dominance in England in the last 10 years has dulled how we should see this achievement. We are so used to this relentless winning machine and I spoke in previous newsletters about how we measure that success.

The confetti has only just been cleared from Saturday’s title celebrations and perhaps over time this Chelsea team will also achieve immortal status like other invincible sides that have come before them.

Right now, the pace at which they blew away their title rivals, ultimately claiming the title by 12 points and winning all of their games against the top four, has left a stunned feeling about Chelsea’s campaign. That shock is also part expectance. We’ve known Chelsea were taking the title so long ago that interest dwindled. Now it’s definitely time to take notice.

This invincible Chelsea side will go down as one of the greatest of all time in the WSL and in women’s football history, but maybe it’s just going to take a bit more time before the statues start being built.

Team of the Season

Inspired by my good friend Jessy Parker Humphreys, who put together their WSL Team of the Season for The Observer, I thought I would pick my best XI from the 2024-25 WSL campaign.

I’m going to pick one player for each position and you are absolutely welcome to disagree with me in the comments.

Goalkeeper - Phallon Tullis-Joyce

It is such a tough choice between Chelsea’s Hannah Hampton and Manchester United’s Phallon Tullis-Joyce, who shared the league’s Golden Glove award after both reaching 13 clean sheets. However, Tullis-Joyce just nudges it for me given how she has stepped up this season and replaced one of the biggest names in goalkeeping in Mary Earps.

Both Hampton and Tullis-Joyce’s highlight reels are impressive, but the latter didn’t make the slightest mistake until the final day against Arsenal. Hampton has been unbelievably consistent but had some shaky moments at her near post this season. There is hardly anything in it but that’s the difference for me.

Right-back - Jayde Riviere

I realise this team is looking very United-pilled so far, but again this was a close race between Lucy Bronze and Riviere. The way that Riviere stepped up this season, given the injury issues that had harmed her United career up to this point, was remarkable. She has been so important to their style of play, defensively and offensively, and we saw how much her absence impacted them in the 4-3 defeat to Arsenal on the final day. Hopefully this latest injury won’t keep her out for long.

In case you missed it, Conner Roberts wrote about just how important she is in this piece earlier in the season.

Centre-back - Millie Bright

Another player who has shown incredible consistency after injury. Bright’s 2023-24 season was massively impacted by injury and Chelsea did suffer as a result. This year she’s shown once again why she is one of the best defenders in the world. While her back line has shuffled around at times because of absentees or tactical decisions, Bright has remained the core piece of the defensive puzzle. While her long balls up top aren’t required as much under Sonia Bompastor as they were with Emma Hayes, Bright is still very much the complete package.

Centre-back - Maya Le Tissier

In her first season as club captain, Le Tissier has looked her most composed and controlled. Her unique technical ability is what sets her apart from most. She’s able to ping the ball around with ease, is dangerous from set-piece situations and commands her box well. Le Tissier naturally has a physical, tough-tackling side to her game too. A defender made in the Bright mould, I’d like to see her get more game time for England.

Left-back - Sandy Baltimore

One of my players of the season, Baltimore has been a revelation on Chelsea’s left side. She also gets extra points for adapting to an unfamiliar position, given she had traditionally played as a more advanced winger before arriving at Chelsea. Baltimore was chucked in at left-back in Niamh Charles’ absence and she has made the position her own, allowing Bompastor to play an aggressive, attacking style. Her finishing has also been crucial for Chelsea, with four goals and three assists in the WSL this season.

Defensive midfielder - Erin Cuthbert

The Chelsea player that always seems to come up clutch for her team while also running around like a terrier for 90 minutes. Nobody does it quite like Cuthbert. She’s a player whose absence sticks out and any Chelsea team feels much weaker without her in it. A believer, a relentless worker and a finisher.

Defensive midfielder - Yui Hasegawa

Hasegawa is one of the game’s great midfield technicians and her importance to Manchester City can’t be understated.

She’s played nearly 2000 minutes for City in the WSL this season and stayed consistent against a backdrop of disruption. This season, amongst all of City’s chaos, Hasegawa has still ranked in the top five for passes into the final third, pass completion rate, progressive passes and interceptions. She had the most successful take ons in the 2024-25 campaign racking up a total of 36 (FBref).

Attacking midfielder - Mariona Caldentey

The WSL’s Player of the Season is my player of the season and the lynchpin of this XI. Caldentey has been influential in about 90% of Arsenal’s game this season. I can recall the smallest sample size of games in which she couldn’t make an impact. She played the majority of the first half of the season in the No. 10 role and that’s where she’ll play in this side. The fact she has looked so comfortable playing in a deeper No. 8 position in recent weeks shows how versatile she can be and her unique ability on and off the ball. She is an absolute all rounder, the Andrew Flintoff of women’s football. Nine goals and five assists in the WSL, seven goals and two assists in the Champions League. Arsenal wouldn’t be in Lisbon without her.

Forward - Alessia Russo

It’s a weird case of what might have been for the WSL Golden Boot this season. Russo ended up sharing the award with Bunny Shaw after they both finished the campaign with 12 goals.

I can’t help but think what those totals would have been if Shaw hadn’t had most of her season impacted by injury and Renee Slegers had taken over as Arsenal head coach earlier.

The Arsenal number nine hit the ground running in October as soon as Jonas Eidevall left, literally scoring a few days later in the Champions League. From that moment on she’s shown why Arsenal were so desperate to secure her to a long-term deal in the first place. Some of her finishes this season have been unbelievable, with small touches and moments from close range, as well as long-range efforts. I’m already excited about what next season could bring for Russo.

Forward - Nikita Parris

Brighton have been one of the most interesting teams this season and that is largely down to the exciting and creative attack that manager Dario Vidosic has put together.

The addition of Parris and former Chelsea star Fran Kirby has allowed Brighton to progress the ball at speed, create in and around the box, as well as score from range. Parris has been a core part of their much-deserved fifth placed finish in the WSL.

I’m not sure many people would have expected Parris to be as influential as she has been this season, given the stage the 31-year-old is at in her career and the difficulties she had at both Arsenal and Manchester United. She finishes the campaign with seven goals and five assists.

The forward will now once again be in the conversation for a place in Sarina Wiegman’s Euros squad and I’m not sure many would have thought that at the start of the season.

Forward - Shekiera Martinez

One of my favourite new arrivals in the WSL, Martinez has had a phenomenal few months.

The 23-year-old couldn’t make her West Ham debut until January, as she had to spend the first chunk of the season on loan with Freiburg to claim the required visa points, but has been unstoppable ever since.

An incredible 10 goals in 12 games and the deserved winner of the WSL’s first-ever Rising Star award, Martinez is a live wire. She can press, move and finish, and is fearless in how she approaches games against the top sides. I can’t wait to see more of her next season. She ends the season with a goals per 90 ratio of 1.01, averaging a goal every 89 minutes (BBC Sport).

That’s it from me this week! See you after the FA Cup final.

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