Sonia Bompastor takes Chelsea to new levels of dominance in ominous warning to rivals | OneFootball

Fears that Emma Hayes’ exit would lead to Blues regression have proven very wide of the mark as they look to seal unbeaten domestic treble in FA Cup final

Hope that the departure of Hayes to coach the US national team - where she has already won Olympic gold - might spell an end to Chelsea’s Women’s Super League (WSL) monopoly could hardly have proven wider of the mark.

The five successive WSL titles won under the former manager have already become six and this season’s triumph represented a new level of dominance.

The first title in that sequence, in 2019/20, was decided on points per game, with Chelsea behind Manchester City when Covid ended the season but having played one match fewer.

Last season, they were champions only on goal difference and the previous three title races all went to the final day. This year, it was wrapped up by the end of April, Chelsea eventually finishing 12 points clear with a record points tally of 60.

News this week of fresh investment, which values the club at £200million, will do little to cool fears from rivals that Chelsea are pulling away. Alexis Ohanian, the co-founder of Reddit and husband of tennis great Serena Williams, has purchased a 10 per cent stake and will sit on the board.

“We want to be the leaders," Bompastor said, addressing the “game-changing” investment. "We want to be the team that shows every other team how you need to perform and how you need to invest in the women's game.

"Hopefully, this example will bring some other people who will invest in the women's team in this league. I think that's just the example we need to set for ourselves, but also to show the other teams what they need to do.

The blot on the Blues’s campaign - and indeed, the one area in which Bompastor has scope to outdo Hayes - came in the Champions League, with a semi-final hammering against Barcelona, who now face Arsenal in next weekend’s final.

"The club already had a lot of success,” Bompastor said. “We want to make sure we are in a position to compete for the Champions League.

Even without knowing quite how this campaign ends, that is a scary thought.