It’s been a brilliant start to the 2024/25 Women’s Super League (WSL) campaign as Chelsea look to retain their title and Crystal Palace aim to cement their place in the top flight.
There have been some blockbuster clashes, among them ArsenalDraw 2-2 against Manchester City at the Emirates on the opening weekend, Liverpool’s 3-2 triumph over Tottenham in October and Chelsea2-0 win over title rivals City.
Sonia Bompastor’s side are leading at the top of the table, while several clubs are still in danger of being dragged into a relegation battle in the new year. Also, there has already been a managerial change as Jonas Eidevall resigned from his post in October and Arsenal are in the process of appointing his successor.
With that being said, 90 minutes have ranked the most improved WSL teams so far this season…
It may sound crazy to suggest that a team that has won six of the last seven WSL titles has improved, but somehow Chelsea have. Nobody quite knew how they would fare this season following the departure of long-serving Emma Hayes and the arrival of former Lyon boss Bompastor.
But, it’s fair to say they absolutely fly in this new era. Before the final international break of the year, Chelsea had won every game in all competitions and had a five-point lead at the top of the table.
To put that into context, at the same point last season they had dropped points away to Manchester City in the WSL and away to Real Madrid in the Champions League. In early December last year, they also suffered a shock 4-1 defeat away to Arsenal in the league.
Chelsea’s torrid form this season is testament to the way Bompastor has settled in at the London club and the caliber of players they signed in the summer. It’s worth noting that the reigning champions achieved their results in the opening months of this season without Sam Kerr, Mia Fishel, Sophie Ingle and Niamh Charles, while also losing Lauren James and Kadeisha Buchanan to injury.
Arsenal may not be where they want to be in the WSL standings, but they make this list as a result of how they turned things around after an innocuous start to the campaign. The Gunners finished in the top three and qualified for the Champions League in 2023/24, but were still a long way off rivals City and Chelsea.
The start of the current season has undoubtedly not lived up to expectations. Under Eidevall in the opening weeks of the season, they drew at home to City in the league, went past Leicester City a week later, failed to break the deadlock at home to Everton, were crushed by Bayern Munich away in the Champions League and were then beaten by league leaders Chelsea at the Emirates.
The Chelsea result saw a change in the boat as Eidevall stepped down, and it’s fair to say that Arsenal have been on a resurgence since then under interim manager Renee Slegers. In their first seven games in charge in October and November, the north London outfit remained unbeaten.
They overcame the likes of Valerenga and Juventus in the Champions League to boost their hopes of qualifying for the knockout rounds and won three of their four league games against West Ham, Brighton and Tottenham. They dropped points away to Manchester United but secured a hard-fought 1-1 draw.
All may not be perfect at Arsenal, but they have turned things around after such a poor start. They also did so in short order to significantly boost their hopes of securing another top-three finish this season.
Brighton have undoubtedly been the surprise package this season under new manager Dario Vidosic. After finishing ninth in the WSL standings last season, starting December in the top three represents remarkable progress for the Seagulls.
They recruited extremely well in the summer as they signed experienced personalities in Fran Kirby and Nikita Parris. The arrival of Kiko Seike from Urawa Reds also helped facilitate the departure of Elisabeth Terland to Manchester United.
Their most significant defeats have come against Arsenal and Manchester City, but they have otherwise put together a very good run of results. If Brighton can maintain this form in the second half of the campaign, they will surely be in line to finish as the ‘best of the rest’ outside the usual top four, possibly even higher.
Given that they were among the relegation favorites this season, it’s fair to say that they are one of – if not the most – improved teams this season.
