A lot has been made of Emma Hayes’ final season in charge of Chelsea, which came to its climax on Saturday in the form of a fifth successive Women's Super League triumph. When a quadruple chase was reduced to that singular title race in a matter of four brutal weeks this spring, criticism was quick to arrive, and it will linger even despite this weekend's success. But to slam the Blues for a lack of achievement this term is to ignore the context of their season.
On the one hand, we are talking about a Chelsea team that had won nine of the 12 domestic honours available in the four seasons prior to this one, reaching the final in two of the three cups they failed to claim. As a result, they are held to higher standards than most and so to end the campaign with just one trophy does warrant questions, especially as it represents their worst season in five years.
But rather than giving any obvious causes for concern, the answers instead highlight what an impressive feat it was for Chelsea to even win this WSL title and send Hayes off to the United States on a high. There's no doubt that all involved will have wanted to rake in even more silverware, yet they have shown incredible resilience and grit in difficult circumstances to be crowned champions of England once again - and that is something that should be recognised.