Chelsea target unbeaten season after 'perfect' day
Chelsea "aims to go the entire season unbeaten," says defender Lucy Bronze, after their win over title rivals Arsenal boosted their lead at the top of the Women's Super League table.
The Blues have been on a roll, winning 11 out of their 12 matches in the WSL this season. They've also secured a spot in the Women's Champions League knockout stages, reached the Women's League Cup semi-finals, and advanced to the fifth round of the Women's FA Cup.
Manager Sonia Bompastor has yet to experience a loss in any competition since taking over from Emma Hayes in the summer.
"We're aiming for four trophies, and that's no easy task," Bronze shared with BBC Two after their 1-0 victory over Arsenal, which temporarily put them nine points ahead at the top of the WSL. However, Manchester United's win on Sunday evening reduced their lead to seven.
"We wanted to build a strong lead [to be in a good position] as we head into the busy months of March, April, and May. It's tough [then] and you might drop points, but we're in a great spot now and things are looking up. We want to go the season unbeaten."
"There are records out there waiting to be broken, and Chelsea is a team that loves to chase them.
"We haven't won the Champions League yet. We've got five league titles in a row, but going unbeaten would be incredible. We're on a great path to achieving that." Chelsea has gone unbeaten in the WSL twice, in 2017-18 and 2019-20, while Arsenal did it in 2012-13.
The only English team to stay unbeaten in all competitions in the modern era was Arsenal in 2006-2007, when they won the quadruple.
That's a feat Chelsea hopes to match, but Bompastor quickly pointed out that they "haven't won anything yet," even with a strong lead in the WSL.
"Going unbeaten isn't my main focus right now. I'm really happy with the result. As you saw in the game, it was really close," she said.
"These performances are on the edge. It can go either way, but it went our way, and I'm really pleased with that.
"We just want to take it one game at a time, making sure we make the right choices to get great results. We're still a long way from winning anything."
Chelsea's players and staff celebrated at full-time, and Bompastor shared that she gave them an extra day off after a "perfect" afternoon.