Manchester City crowned WSL Champions for the first time since 2016

City seals the title in style.

Manchester City closed the 2025/26 Barclays Women’s Super League season as deserved champions, finishing four points clear under Andrée Jeglertz in a campaign defined by consistency when it mattered most.

The title had already been decided, but City refused to drift — closing out with a 4-1 win over West Ham. Jade Rose opened the scoring before Laura Coombs, playing the final match of her career, added a goal of her own. An emotional afternoon that carried weight well beyond the result.

3×
Bunny Shaw — Golden Boot, back-to-back
Two more goals on the final day. Club all-time leading scorer. Future uncertain, legacy already written.

Bunny Shaw WSL Golden Boot winner 2025-26 Manchester City — Bunny Shaw — goal celebration, final day. Action shot preferred. Landscape crop.

Shaw’s future remains an open question with reports linking her to Chelsea this summer. But her impact on this title — and on City’s history — cannot be overstated. Jeglertz’s transformation of this squad has been total: attacking fluency, defensive discipline, and the mental consistency to win close games.

Final Day
Drama across the division

Positions were largely settled, but the final day still produced late goals, emotional moments, and at least one finish that will be remembered into next season.

Manchester City 4 – 1 West Ham United
Tottenham Hotspur 2 – 1 Brighton
Everton 1 – 0 Leicester City
London City Lionesses 1 – 0 Aston Villa
Arsenal 3 – 1 Liverpool
Chelsea 1– 0 Manchester United

Toko Koga — stoppage-time strike, Spurs vs Brighton

Toko Koga’s stoppage-time strike confirmed Tottenham as best of the rest.
Tottenham confirmed their status as best of the rest with a 2-1 win over Brighton, sealed by a Toko Koga strike deep in stoppage time. Everton needed a 96th-minute Mayumi Pacheco goal to beat Leicester — dramatic given the relegation context. London City Lionesses edged Aston Villa thanks to Freya Godfrey’s late winner to round out a final day that delivered when it needed to.

Arsenal
Russo’s season. Arsenal return to Europe.
Arsenal secured second place and automatic Champions League qualification with a 3-1 win over Liverpool at Anfield. Mariona Caldentey doubled the lead emphatically after Russo opened the scoring — Russo then grabbed her second to reach 24 goals in all competitions for the season.

Alessia Russo — goal celebration at Anfield

Alessia Russo: 24 goals in all competitions for the season
A Champions League semi-final exit leaves unfinished business in Europe, but the league campaign was a genuine step forward. Arsenal go again in 2026/27 with a squad that demonstrated they can compete at the top — even if City currently sit a level above.

Chelsea
Third place. No silverware. A reset is required.
For three-time defending champions, third place and Champions League qualification via the playoff route represents a significant step back. Under Sonia Bompastor, Chelsea endured a rare trophyless season — individual quality was never in doubt, but collective consistency proved elusive.

Lauren James — Player of the Season, in action

Lauren James: Chelsea’s Player of the Season in a campaign that fell short of expectations
Lauren James was named the club’s Player of the Season — a deserved individual recognition in a collective disappointment. Sam Kerr wrote her own footnote to the campaign, becoming Chelsea Women’s joint all-time top scorer with 116 goals, matching Fran Kirby’s record. Speculation over her future — and a reported NWSL move — adds further uncertainty to a summer that already demands answers.

One concrete step forward off the pitch: from 2026/27, Chelsea Women will play all home WSL matches at Stamford Bridge. The infrastructure catches up. Now the team must follow.

Relegated
Leicester’s collapse ends in the drop.
Leicester City finish bottom and are relegated to WSL 2. The manner of it is the hardest part — before Christmas, survival looked a formality. What followed was a form collapse that proved irreversible while Liverpool, who were bottom at that point, mounted their own escape.

Leicester — dejected moment, after Mayumi Pacheco of Everton scores her team’s first goal

Leicester City: relegated after a second-half season collapse that proved impossible to recover from
They will now look to rebuild in the second tier and push for an immediate return. The window for that is defined, and the margin for error next season is zero.