Chelsea star Lucy Bronze not afraid of more “competitive” WSL after end of unbeaten run | OneFootball

 (Credit: Rebekah Wynkoop / SPP)

Lucy Bronze is relishing a more “competitive” Women’s Super League (WSL) after Chelsea suffered their first defeat in the competition in 585 days.

Chelsea suffered a shocking 1-0 defeat to Everton on Sunday, their first loss since falling to Liverpool in May 2024.

The result has left Chelsea six points off leaders Manchester City, with 12 left games left to play this season.

It comes after Chelsea won a domestic a treble last season and finished 12 points clear at the top of the table.

Lucy Bronze reacts to end of Chelsea’s unbeaten WSL run

Ahead of Chelsea vs AS Roma on Wednesday in the Champions League, Lucy Bronze has reacted to the end of their WSL unbeaten streak, as Everton secured a historic win.

“We’re not even at Christmas, and there’s plenty more games to play,” Bronze told the club’s website, playing down their shock defeat.

“Not just for City, but for (Manchester) United, for Arsenal. We’ve all got to play against each other, and they’ve all got to play against teams like Everton, who are looking to pick up points as well.

“It’s not just us. You saw that Liverpool almost took a point off Arsenal; it’s just the way the league is. We wanted it to be more competitive – and we’re happy to take on that challenge.”

Bronze looked back at Chelsea’s defeat to Barcelona in the Champions League last season, which came before Chelsea went on to finish a domestic treble.

She said: “We did lose a game last year, it was just in the Champions League, so it’s not like we’re not used to it.

“We know how to lose games and to keep ourselves up, and we probably didn’t deserve to lose the game against Everton. That’s football.”

Chelsea look to bounce back from WSL loss against Roma

Things have been going wrong for Chelsea in the WSL recently, with the title now Manchester City’s to lose.

Chelsea have failed to win four of their last six games in the WSL, with draws against Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool.

Sonia Bompastor’s side are also out of the automatic qualification spots in the Women’s Champions League after draws with Twente and Barcelona.

With two games left to play in the League Phase, Chelsea are sixth, and they need to finish at least fourth to avoid the playoffs.

Chelsea are currently joined in the playoff spots by both Manchester United and Arsenal.

Arsenal are down in 10th, but the Gunners are boosted by the return of Leah Williamson ahead of their clash with Twente.