Chelsea boss Sonia Bompastor has embraced her side as the team to beat in the WSL after they went top with a 2-0 win over title rivals Manchester City.
Bompastor, the first coach in the competition's history to win her first seven games in the competition, maintained her perfect record at Chelsea since taking over from Emma Hayes thanks to second-half goals from Mayra Ramirez and Guro Reiten at Stamford Bridge .
City were also unbeaten at the start of the match and top of the table, but Chelsea's crucial win puts the champions two points ahead with a game in hand, meaning they can feasibly extend their lead to five points.
After chasing the leaders for most of last season before winning their fifth consecutive title, Chelsea have taken control of the race in a bid to maintain their dominance in the post-Hayes era.
Asked if Chelsea are the team to beat, Bompastor said: “Yes, maybe the opposition may think so at the moment, especially as we have won seven in a row in the league.
“But those are our standards, you know. When I came to Chelsea, I was really aligned with the vision and the ambitions. We are the vehicles in this league, in the league, and we just have to maintain those standards.”
“If everyone thinks we are the team to beat, that's fine for us. As a manager I like to embrace the pressure. That's the job. And for my players, who feel like they are the team to beat, That's really a good thing.” feeling.”
Bompastor didn't want to get ahead of ourselves after the crucial win, reminding us that Chelsea “haven't won anything yet” under her, but was clear that Chelsea's aim is to remain perfect all season.
When asked if she thinks her team can achieve this feat, she said: “This is of course our main goal. But sometimes you just have an impact from outside.
“If we keep our players healthy and I have the whole squad, then maybe with the players coming back late, I can tell you that it could be possible.”
Chelsea maintained their 100 percent record at Stamford Bridge in the WSL against City, with 19,499 in attendance in west London, in the first weekend of all the competition's matches being played in the major stadiums.
“It was really special,” Bompastor said. “I said to my players before the match: 'We are doing the best job in the world as players, as managers'. Again I said to them: 'Just enjoy it'. We are playing at Stamford Bridge with 20,000 fans watching the match come. game.
“We're playing against a great team, Man City. We're both fighting for the top of the table. And I think if you don't enjoy that moment it's very difficult. Tonight it was fun. Nice to have the fans there us and fun to enjoy at the end.”
Taylor doesn't want to 'talk fantasy' as City lose top spot
City boss Gareth Taylor insisted his emotions were 'fine' after the defeat but refused to discuss the possibility of Chelsea being five points ahead of him.
Asked about Chelsea's potential to further extend their lead at the top, he said: “Are we going to talk about fantasy here or are we going to talk about the match?
“I have no control over what Chelsea do in the next game. We are still at the top of the league, we have started the season very well. We have had a setback.”
“I can't tell you what they're going to do with their game in hand.”
Asked about the match, he added: “We are obviously disappointed, but I think it was a match full of mistakes for both teams,” he said. “Many opportunities came from mistakes. In the first half they made more than us and we couldn't capitalize.
“The match seemed to be heading for a 0-0 and it quickly got away from us. But I think we balanced the balance somewhat in the second half in terms of mistakes.”
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