Soccer
Lucy Bronze considers the WSL to be gaining strength as competition intensifies
Chelsea and England defender Lucy Bronze believes the Women’s Super League has gone from “strength to strength”.
Last year’s thrilling campaign saw champions Manchester City finish four points clear at the summit and other teams outside of the traditional title contenders made names for themselves as Tottenham clinched fifth, just ahead of newcomers London City Lionesses.
The WSL returns on Friday when London City host Manchester United, kicking off a weekend packed with potential debuts across the league following an influx of arrivals over the summer, including the headline signing of two-time Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas to London City.
A veteran of the WSL, Bronze’s Chelsea come up against Aston Villa on Saturday and she believes that the high level of competition this season is more “visual”.
Asked about what has changed since her first taste of the WSL, Bronze told the Press Association: “You look at this season; Arsenal have been playing in the Emirates, now we’re playing at Stamford Bridge. The game has gone from strength to strength.
“I think back to the beginning of the WSL, I think the competition wasn’t as high. You had the likes of Arsenal who first kind of kicked off, then Liverpool had a bit of a go, City had a bit of a go and then Chelsea’s had a long reign as well.
“Over the years it’s become more and more competitive. I know we say it every year, it’s so annoying we say it every year about it being the most competitive season, but this year it’s a bit more visual. Players aren’t just saying it to say it.
“Take out the teams who have won trophies in recent history, you’ve still got the likes of Tottenham making big signings, which I don’t think people are speaking about. People are more speaking about London City Lionesses making big signings. So there’s a lot of competition throughout the league.
“I think that’s what we saw last year with City winning the league after so many years without it that it is more competitive than it’s ever been.”
Bronze is also relishing the chance to put Chelsea “back on top” following a mixed campaign.
In Sonia Bompastor’s second season at the helm, the Blues finished third in the WSL – ending their six-year stranglehold on the league – and were knocked out of the Champions League and FA Cup, but did secure one piece of silverware with a League Cup final triumph.
Bronze – who signed a one-year contract extension over the summer – added: “We’ve just had to look at it as something to improve on and grow from, learn from our mistakes.
“I think Chelsea’s always been renowned as a team that wins trophies, that are winners.
“There’s been a transition, it’s probably taken a little bit longer than expected. Sonia’s first year we went unbeaten almost the entire season, which is insane. I think that second season was maybe where you saw more of the transition.
“It feels like a fresh slate at the start of this season, even in the training sessions, it just seems like there’s so much energy.
“Everyone’s really looking forward to putting things right, getting Chelsea back on top again. We still won a trophy so not the worst season in the world, but by Chelsea standards we expect more.”
