Manchester City officially lifted the title on the final day of the 2025/26 Women’s Super League that saw emotional goodbyes, late goals and fighting spirit at the bottom.
Arsenal secured second, with Chelsea’s win over fourth placed Manchester United only good enough to solidify third and a Champions League play-off berth.
Tottenham Hotspur, London City Lionesses and Everton ended on a high, while Aston Villa, West Ham and Liverpool will have to lick their wounds ready for September.
Two matches of the English football season remain - the relegation play-off between Leicester City and Charlton Athletic and the FA Cup final featuring double-chasing Man City and first time finalists Brighton.
Before then, here are four things we learnt from the WSL’s final matchday.
Kerr bows out in style
After spearheading Chelsea’s attack for six years, Sam Kerr announced that their clash with Manchester United will be her final match in West London blue.
And as one of the most clinical strikers to ever grace the women’s game, she naturally had to end things with a stupendous volley.
Running on to Lauren James’ crafted cross, Kerr swipes her boot with such pace and accuracy that Phallon Tullis-Joyce is powerless to keep it out.
Taking the league by storm when joining from Chicago Red Stars, the Australian scored 58 goals in her first 75 games, helping Emma Hayes’ side tighten their stranglehold of the league title and earn herself five winners medals.
Her last two seasons have not been as plain sailing to say the least. An ACL injury ruled her out for the latter half of the 2023/24 campaign and the entirety of 2024/25.
There have been bright spots since her return to action though. A goal in her first game back against Aston Villa, breaking Fran Kirby’s record of WSL goals for the Blues, and now the winning goal in her final outing - which also sees her equal Kirby’s total goalscoring record for the club (116).
Sonia Bompastor also has to contend with life without captain Millie Bright, whose own injuries issues have led her to announce her retirement from the game, spending the last 12 years at Chelsea.
“It's been an honour to play for this club. To raise the standard, and be part of this incredible group,” the nine-time WSL winner told Stamford Bridge. “And to the Chelsea fans, your support over the last twelve years has been incredible.”
Elsewhere, there were departures at Arsenal, as the long serving Katie McCabe and Beth Mead made their last appearances for the club in their 3-1 win over Liverpool at Anfield.
Laura Coombs similarly signed off with a goal, getting the fourth in Manchester City’s 4-1 victory lap against West Ham. It was the 35-year-old’s second WSL trophy in her over twenty-year career.
Beth England and Katrina Gorry bid farewell to Tottenham and West Ham respectively, while it may well prove to be Bunny Shaw’s last match for Man City as contract talks with the Sky Blues have stalled.
Shaw shows City how irreplaceable she is
The rumour mill surrounding Shaw has swirled as news of breakthroughs in renewing her contract at Man City remains fuzzy. Reportedly talks between the striker and the club have stalled and, now with a Sam Kerr-sized hole up front, Chelsea are in pole position to recruit the 29-year-old.
Shaw’s brace took her to 21 goals for the season - the third time she has reached the 20 goal mark in her WSL career and cementing her third consecutive Golden Boot.
The double against the Hammers also meant she joined an illustrious list of Vivianne Miedema, Beth Mead, Beth England, Fran Kirby and Nikita Parris in achieving 100 goal contributions in the WSL.
Both her goals displayed her instinctual positioning, link up play and razor sharp finishing that will take a mammoth amount of money to fill.
Fortunately for the Cityzens, finding the cash is something they need not worry about. Still, a lot of their summer budget will have to go to giving the squad more breadth for their Champions League ventures.
Even if they did fork out for a number nine of Shaw’s calibre, the guaranteed goals the Jamaican provides and understanding with her teammates is difficult to replicate with another forward.
Shaw herself was candid in discussing her situation with Sky Sports post match. "I've always said Manchester is my home, it's where I want to be.
“But there's a lot of things which go on behind the scenes which I won't talk about now.
"Manchester is where I would want to be, but ultimately we'll see."
Tottenham put cherry on cake of best ever season
2024/25 was a dreadful year for Spurs, with the side landing eleventh place - their worst finish since joining the WSL in 2019. But what a difference a year makes.
In his first season in charge, Martin Ho has led the Lilywhites to their best ever season in the top flight, finishing fifth with 36 points.
A 2-1 win away at FA Cup finalists Brighton showcased a lot of what Ho has brought to north London since he was appointed.
Focus on build-up, line-cutting passes and a confidence that they severely lacked in Robert Vilahamn’s final season. This was seen clearest in their ability to come back after going a goal down in the second half.
The winning goal - a 95th minute long ranger - was scored by one of his first new signings, Toko Koga. The 20-year-old has had a hugely promising debut season in England, starting all but one of Spurs’ league matches and helping Ho develop the possession principles from the back.
There will still be a hard fight on their hands to break into the top four, never mind the top three. However, if Ho is backed like he was in January then Tottenham could spring even greater surprises next year.
Leicester show fight before relegation play-off
For nine other teams, it is now time to concentrate on putting their feet up or jetting off on holidays. For Leicester City, however, they still have to guarantee their place in the WSL for next season.
Finishing bottom of the league means they will face WSL2’s third place side Charlton Athletic in a one off contest, with the winner earning a spot in the WSL’s revamped 14 team strong league.
It looked as though things would be finishing on a more positive note in their away day at Everton. As the clock ticked into injury time, it was still goalless at Goodison Park, with the Foxes being bold in their search for a confidence-boosting winner.
It proved to be a less than ideal ending, however. Maz Pacheco netted her first goal for the Toffees in the 96th minute, condemning Leicester to an eleventh straight defeat.
Head coach Rick Passmoor has previously said how shifting the mentality will be all important for staying in the division.
“It’s not about tactics, it’s about individually standing up and fighting for the shirt and fighting together because the spirit will get you through and get you a result.”
For a team that has only mustered nine points, one more chance for survival frankly is a blessing. The question next week will be: will their poor form turn it into more of a curse?
