Sonia Bompastor’s side will return to WSL action with a six-point lead at the top of the table. From the 10 games played thus far, nine matches ended in victory while the other was a draw.

Our head coach, who joined the club last summer, has made a hugely impressive start to life in London and will be hopeful her side can maintain their fine form upon our return to league action.

And before we make the trip to the Chigwell Construction Stadium on Sunday, let’s remind ourselves how the Blues came to be at the summit…

An unbeaten start

Our campaign began with a 1-0 win over Aston Villa at Kingsmeadow. Johanna Rytting Kaneryd opened our account for the season as she netted the only goal in our maiden league match.

That preceded our first away fixture against WSL newcomers Crystal Palace. The Blues prevailed with an emphatic 7-0 victory at Selhurst Park, which remains our biggest victory of the campaign to date.

Impressive wins were then recorded against WSL title hopefuls Arsenal at the Emirates and Tottenham Hotspur in Kingston.

Following the international break, Bompastor’s side picked up where they had left off in November. Back-to-back trips to Merseyside saw the Blues claim wins against Everton and Liverpool, with eight goals scored across both encounters and none conceded.

It was then time for one of the most hotly anticipated league matches of the campaign: a clash against last term’s title rivals at Stamford Bridge, Manchester City. In front of almost 20,000 supporters, those wearing Chelsea blue claimed the bragging rights thanks to a 2-0 win. It was a victory that sent us to the top of the table.

Our advantage at the summit was extended when we played our game in hand, with Manchester United beaten 1-0 at Kingsmeadow. On her 100th Chelsea appearance, Guro Reiten netted the match-winner from the penalty spot.

The Blues hosted Brighton & Hove Albion in our final home match of 2024. A six-goal thriller saw Bompastor's side claim a 4-2 win to guarantee that would go into the winter break atop of the league table despite having one game left to play.

That last game of the calendar year came against Leicester City at the King Power Stadium. A 1-1 draw, with Wieke Kaptein scoring the equaliser with a stunning strike from distance, saw the Blues move six points clear after 10 games played.

Records broken and milestones reached

Amid such an impressive start to life as Chelsea's head coach, Bompastor has broken a number of records along the way.

Following our victory over Man City in SW6 in November, the 44-year-old became the first head coach in WSL history to start a tenure with seven consecutive wins. She now holds the record at nine games.

It was previously held by former Arsenal manager Jonas Eidevell who won his opening six matches upon joining the Gunners in 2021.

Bompastor also set a new club record of winning 13 consecutive matches across all competitions, beating the 12 set by former manager Emma Hayes.

Players have also celebrated individual milestones. Defender Kadeisha Buchanan marked her 50th appearance for the club in our win against Arsenal in October before Reiten celebrated a century of Chelsea games in November.

In December, Sjoeke Nusken also reached the 50-appearance landmark, with nine of those coming in the WSL this season up to that point. Academy graduate Aggie Beever-Jones hit the same milestone in last weekend's FA Cup win over Charlton Athletic; she has featured 10 times in the league so far this term.

Goals, goals, goals

The Blues are the leading scorers in the WSL this season, having struck 31 times in 10 matches thus far. That is 10 more than our closest contenders in front of goal, with second-placed Manchester City netting on 21 occasions.

Our league goals have been scored by 14 different players: Reiten, Beever-Jones, Rytting Kaneryd, Nusken, Kaptein, Mayra Ramirez, Sandy Baltimore, Nathalie Bjorn, Lucy Bronze, Erin Cuthbert, Maika Hamano, Lauren James, Ashley Lawrence, Catarina Macario, and an own goal.

Reiten is our current top scorer across all competitions, including in the WSL. She has netted six goals in the league thus far and is level in second in the standings with Arsenal's Alessia Russo, as Manchester City's Khadija Shaw currently leads the pack with nine.