Crystal Palace were promoted to replace Bristol City in the top flight, while on a wider note, the league is now under the management and operation of a new organisation set up to lead women's football towards further growth and progression, with Nikki Doucet overseeing both the WSL and Championship in a new phase for the game.

Sonia Bompastor has said "every record has to be broken" after she became the first coach in Women's Super League (WSL) history to start a tenure with seven straight wins.

For all the pre-match hype, this top-of-the-table tussle was not quite a box-office battle at the Bridge. It had the feel of a game of chess, as two world-class teams tried to problem-solve their way to a statement win,