Manchester City win first Women's Super League title in a decade after Arsenal drop points

Brighton's first-half goal was enough to ensure Arsenal mathematically can't catch City in the title race Gareth Fuller/AFP, Nathan Stirk via Getty Images Share articleManchester City have won the Women’s Super League title for the first time in a decade following Arsenal’s 1-1 draw at Brighton & Hove Albion on Wednesday. At the start of the day, Arsenal were the only team able to catch City due to their three games in hand. However, dropping points against Brighton handed City the title ahead of their final match of the season at West Ham United on May 16. Brighton scored just before half-time via Fuka Tsunoda, before Frida Manuum equalised for the visitors in the 62nd minute. It was the second time in as many months that Arsenal have failed to beat the south-coast side, having been knocked out of the FA Cup by Dario Vidosic’s team in April. WSL CHAMPIONS! 🏆🩵 pic.twitter.com/eUvgyEAA0Z — Manchester City Women (@ManCityWomen) May 6, 2026 City have won 17 of their 21 league matches in their first season under head coach Andree Jeglertz, who was appointed as the permanent successor to Gareth Taylor in the summer of 2025 following his European Championship campaign in charge of Denmark. Notably, Jeglertz’s City won all 11 of their home league matches this season; Chelsea were the last side to achieve that feat, in the 2022-23 campaign. By clinching the title, City broke Chelsea’s string of six successive league-winning campaigns. It is City’s second-ever WSL title after their first in 2016, with Chelsea having finished top in eight of the nine years since. City’s Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw (19), Vivianne Miedema (10) and Kerolin (9) comprise three of the WSL’s top six goalscorers. The champions holding the strongest attacking record in the league with 58 goals in 21 matches. City suffered a disappointing 2024-25 season which saw them fail to qualify for the Champions League with a fourth-placed finish. However, there was no major overhaul to the squad, with only a handful of January signings including Grace Clinton, Sydney Lohmann and Sam Coffey adding to the team’s core which was largely in place last season. City surpassed the 50-point mark for the third time since the WSL expanded to 11 teams in 2018, and could match their highest-ever recorded points tally of 55 if they beat West Ham on the final day. They previously hit that total in 2023-24 and 2020-21. Jeglertz’s side could also secure a domestic double this season, as they remain in contention to win the FA Cup for the first time in six years. City face Chelsea in the semi-final on May 10, with Liverpool against Brighton in the other semi-final. Analysis by women’s football writer Megan Feringa It’s important to state here: Few, if anyone, tipped City to be crowned WSL champions at the start of the season. Andree Jeglertz, despite his two decades in the game, arrived in England as a relative unknown. City had finished fourth in the WSL last season, finishing without a full-time manager having sacked Gareth Taylor in March, nor any silverware in hand. Chelsea, meanwhile, had stomped to a sixth successive title, finishing the season unbeaten, while claiming the League Cup and FA Cup. Arsenal were crowned European champions. City looked like a project in need of major work. Yet, 12 months later, they have lifted the title. The triumph is a combination of myriad factors: City’s squad being mostly fresh and healthy after being plagued by injuries last season; no European football testing the limits of their depth; a new manager unshackling a team previously working under the dogmatic possession principles of former manager Gareth Taylor and imbuing them with a clear sense of self belief. But it is also testament to the project that City have been building for years under managing director Charlotte O’Neill and sporting director Therese Sjogran. Both women have played pivotal roles in making big decisions to push City forward, from O’Neill hiring Sjogran in December 2024 to backing Sjogran’s decision to part ways with Taylor just five days before a League Cup final against Chelsea and pursue Jeglertz late in the summer. City’s victory ends Chelsea’s six-year league dominance, a tally of 2162 days in total. It is a feat that should be welcomed by the wider women’s football world. Hegemony does not capture imaginations and as women’s football grows, the importance of having multiple teams legitimately competing for the title is integral. Arsenal did well to push City to the brink, Maanum’s second-half equaliser against Brighton setting up a nervy finish. Renee Slegers’ side will also feel aggrieved not to have had a penalty given them before Maanum’s equaliser. But Brighton have consistently been the team capable of bending the title race to their whim. After defeating City two weeks ago, it’s fitting they be the team that gifts the title back to them. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms