Chelsea crowned WSL champions after crushing Manchester United

A virtuoso performance from striker Mayra Ramirez set Chelsea on course for a 6-0 thrashing of Manchester United at Old Trafford on Saturday to secure a fifth consecutive Women’s Super League title in the last coach Emma Hayes match.

Chelsea finished the season on 55 points, level with Manchester City but seven ahead of them on goal difference, and the final whistle prompted an outpouring of joy from the traveling fans as Hayes got the send off he deserved.

“It’s very special to get it for Emma and the players who are leaving us,” Chelsea captain Millie Bright, who returned from injury to play a key role in the game, told Sky Sports.

“We have the monster mentality, we’ve shown it season after season,” she added.

Ramirez grabbed the opener for Chelsea after 89 seconds, heading home a brilliant Guro Reiten cross, and she set up Johanna Rytting Kaneryd for a second six minutes later as the hosts battled to a week after the FA Cup final win against Tottenham Hotspur.

Colombia international Ramirez continued to dominate, beating Sjoeke Nusken for the third in the 44th minute before hitting the second in first-half stoppage time.

Any chance of Chelsea catching Manchester City effectively ended when Melanie Leupolz added a fifth two minutes after the interval to turn the rest of the game into a victory parade.

United’s players never got to grips with their fiery opponents, failing to register a shot on target against the side they defeated in the FA Cup semi-finals as they slumped to their heaviest league defeat.

Playing his final game for the club, substitute Fran Kirby came off the bench in the 72nd minute to add a sixth to secure a seventh league title for Hayes, who after 14 years in charge is leaving to become coach of the women’s national team of the USA.

Hayes conceded the title to Manchester City after a shock 4-3 defeat at Liverpool on 1 May, but City’s defeat by Arsenal four days later put the Blues back in the title chase.

“We were given second chances, they don’t come often but you have to take them and we did. We beat Bristol City, we beat Tottenham and we came here and put in a five-star performance to get that. title,” said a beaming Bright before running to lift the trophy with Hayes.