'Still not at our peak' – Chelsea's bid for six-in-a-row looks ominous

When Emma Hayes announced she would leave Chelsea at the end of the 2023-24 season, it offered hope to their Women's Super League rivals.

She had built a successful dynasty in west London, one that landed four WSL titles in a row before making it five in her final match.

With the serial winner out of the picture, it seemed Chelsea would need time to adapt to a new coach and other clubs could take advantage.

But that has not been the case as Sonia Bompastor's side beat Manchester United 1-0 on Sunday to maintain their 100% start to the season and move five points clear at the top.

Ominously, they haven't even hit top gear yet.

Chelsea have started the season in sensational style, winning their opening eight league games with 26 goals scored and three against.

In the Women's Champions League - the one piece of silverware that eluded Hayes before she left to take charge of the United States women's national team - they sealed their place in the quarter-finals by winning four out of four.

Bompastor led Lyon to glory in the competition in 2021-22, as well as three domestic league titles, and has already set her sights on more success with the Blues.

Manchester City, widely tipped to end Chelsea's stranglehold on the title after missing out last season through goal difference, already trail the leaders by five points after eight games.

So, is the title race already over?

"You don't want to say it, because we're only in November," said former Aston Villa boss Carla Ward on BBC Radio 5 Live. "However, it looks a real tough job for the other teams to catch up.

"It just looks like such a mountain to climb. You're looking at Chelsea dropping points in two or three games and the way they are playing at the minute that doesn't look possible."

Chelsea aren't getting carried away either.

"I think it's still so early and I think so much can change with the amount of competitions we're going to be competing in and the heavy game load," added captain Millie Bright.

"I think anything's possible, anything can change. We saw that last season in how one week we were out of the title race and the next week we were winning it."

Despite winning five successive league titles, Chelsea didn't start any of those campaigns in such impressive fashion.

Last season they gained 22 points from their opening eight games, just as they did in 2019-20.

This is the second-best start ever to a WSL season, with London rivals Arsenal setting the record of nine wins from nine in 2018-19. If Chelsea beat Brighton & Hove Albion and Leicester after the international break then they will make history.

They have also now won their last 11 WSL games and within four of breaking Manchester City's record of 14 set last season.

But it's not just in attack where Chelsea are formidable, as their backline has not conceded in their last four WSL outings - a run of 419 minutes.

Bompastor became the first manager in WSL history last weekend to win her first seven matches in the competition, taking the Frenchwoman's tally of victories to 41 in 43 league matches as manager of both Lyon and Chelsea. Hayes may have departed, but the Blues have another winner at the helm.

The scariest thing for Chelsea's title rivals is they haven't actually reached their best level yet.

United boss Marc Skinner had felt his side could exploit the hosts, but Bright said: "To be honest I think we're disappointed it was only 1-0, I think we had some really good chances to punish them in the first half and especially the second.

"It's always difficult when you leave a team hanging in there.

"We want the momentum. I think we're in a really good rhythm, but we're still not at our peak which is a really good place to be in when we're already performing and getting the results.

"There's still lots of work to do and lots more to come. We've faced this amount of games for a long time and if anything we actually really enjoy it. We've got a big squad to deal with it."

When asked how her side can improve, Bompastor told Sky Sports: "I think the main one will be the possession of the ball. We have to have the confidence and the ability to hold the ball more. Even when the opposition is applying high pressure. We are trying to work a lot on that."

Despite not playing at their peak, Chelsea have already beaten all of last season's top six sides.

"That's what champions do, even when they're not at the races, they get the points," former Man City striker Toni Duggan added on Sky Sports.

And Ward added: "They have had a lot of big games recently – they're going to be happy, but from the sounds of it they want to be better in every single department."