Imperious Chelsea eyeing quadruple after derby delight

The WSL is often described as a three-tier league made up of the battle to avoid relegation, the fight for the title and the struggle to be best of the rest.

- Suzanne Wrack

That is not the reality though, because there is no competition at the top and Chelsea are operating in a league of their own above the rest.

The 1-0 win for Sonia Bompastor's side over Arsenal was testament to that, their domination - even in a year of change - means they remain unbeaten and sit pretty at the top.

To rub salt in the wounds, Naomi Girma, a player Arsenal were priced out of the running for, was unveiled to the fans on the Stamford Bridge pitch prior to kick-off.

It wasn't straightforward for the hosts as the rain came down, they needed their bench to navigate their way past the Gunners, Lauren James providing the impetus, forcing Kim Little into conceding a penalty that substitute Guro Reiten would convert to deliver victory, Katie McCabe sent off for dissent in the process.

From an Arsenal point of view, this fixture was pitched as a chance to exorcise the ghost of their poor start to the season, the nadir of which was a 2-1 defeat to Chelsea in the reverse fixture, a loss that would trigger Jonas Eidevall's resignation three days later and begin the 'Renaissance'.