Congratulations, Man City! Chelsea boss Sonia Bompastor admits WSL title race is 'probably' over after limp loss to Arsenal at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea welcomed Arsenal to Stamford Bridge on Saturday lunchtime looking to close the gap on City to three points prior to the leaders' trip to London City Lionesses on Sunday. However, the reigning champions were beaten 2-0, with Beth Mead and Mariona Caldentey grabbing the goals just after half-time. The result means Chelsea are unlikely to win a seventh-straight WSL title.

Speaking to the press post-match, Bompastor admitted: "Today we understand the situation. We know the title race is probably gone, but our mentality is to fight until the very end.

"We will never give up. Now we have to focus on getting points and staying in that second position and doing the best we can. There is a big gap and if City win tomorrow then the gap is nine points. They are in control and if they perform at their best it will be a difficult gap to close.

"My job is to make sure I lift everyone up and we take the learnings and we go into the next game ready to perform. We will have one or two days really low but we will have a good conversation, as usual, and from that everyone will be lifted."

In an interview with Chelsea's club channels, Bompastor added: "My mentality is to keep working hard to give everything we can because the gap is big, but nothing is impossible. So we need to try to control what we can and focus on ourselves, to make sure we put as much pressure as we can on Man City. We need to now protect our second place.

"That's where we are, and it will be tough until the end. We have nine games left. But that's the job we need to do. I know my players, and I know the DNA we have at this club. This result hurts everyone, but the best way to bounce back is to have a good reaction. I think mentally we are strong enough to stay confident. We know the qualities we have in the squad, and that's what we need to focus on, making sure we take the good learnings from this game and look to the future with confidence."

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Chelsea and Arsenal both played in the semi-finals of the Women's League Cup on Wednesday, with the Blues beating City away from home while the Gunners lost to Manchester United at Meadow Park. Lucy Bronze said to Chelsea's club channels that Saturday's hosts were still feeling a little 'tired' from their midweek excursions.

"At the end, we created enough chances to at least get one goal back, and that might have swung it a little bit," Bronze said. "I think in the first half we started really well, but it was a bit of a basketball game, up and down the pitch.

"They were just clinical on those chances they had. The second one was a bit of a killer because it was two in quick succession, and then at the end, you saw us pushing. If we had got a goal, we probably could have nicked a point.

"Coming off the back of the Man City game, there were probably a few tired legs out there, and Arsenal just attacked the game a little bit fresher. It probably took us a bit too long to get into our rhythm, but by the end, we were winning every single duel."

City will move nine points clear at the top of the WSL with victory at London City Lionesses on Sunday before hosting Chelsea next week as they look to take the title from the reigning champions.