Chelsea were given a major scare before booking a spot in the FA Cup fifth round as the defending champions came from behind to seal a 3-1 victory over West Ham after extra time.
Viviane Asseyi gave the Hammers a shock lead after 18 minutes and Rehanne Skinner’s side, who have won just once in the Women’s Super League this season, looked unflustered for large spells at Kingsmeadow.
An early exit looked to be beckoning for the Blues, but Mia Fishel drew the hosts level with 20 minutes remaining to keep alive their hopes of winning the competition for the fourth year in a row.
Erin Cuthbert and Sjoeke Nusken netted in the first half of extra time as Chelsea avoided an upset but their struggles in Sam Kerr’s injury-enforced absence will not have gone unnoticed by their rivals.
There was no such drama for Manchester United as last season’s beaten finalists routed Newcastle 5-0 at Leigh, where Nikita Parris struck in either half to subdue a sizeable travelling contingent.
Third-tier Newcastle headed into this fixture on the back of a 30-game unbeaten streak – their last loss was in December 2022 – but the Red Devils’ class told as Ella Toone opened the scoring.
Parris then bagged a brace before substitutes Rachel Williams and Melvine Malard added gloss to the scoreline to emphasise the gulf in quality between these two teams.
Arsenal were similarly untroubled as goals from Alessia Russo, Lia Walti and Stina Blackstenius put them on the path to a 5-1 victory over Watford.
Seventeen-year-old Michelle Agyemang, who joined Watford on a dual-sign agreement from Arsenal last year, pulled one back, but Amanda Ilestedt and Frida Maanum wrapped up a comfortable win for the Gunners.
Their only concern centred on Beth Mead needing treatment on her right leg at full-time but the England forward was able to walk off the field.
Manchester City brushed aside Durham 4-0 thanks to a double from Jill Roord after Laura Coombs had broken the deadlock early on, with Mary Fowler completing the scoring in the closing stages.
WSL side Tottenham fought from 2-0 down to beat Championship outfit Sheffield United 3-2, with Rosella Ayane scoring the winner in the sixth minute of stoppage time.
Liverpool left it late to beat WSL basement team Bristol City as Gemma Bonner struck five minutes from time to secure a 1-0 win, with the Reds down to 10 for the final half hour as Ceri Holland was dismissed.
Karoline Olesen’s opener and Katja Snoeijs’ double helped Everton to a 3-0 victory over fellow WSL opponents Aston Villa.
Fifth-tier Luton were the lowest-ranked team to reach this stage but were unceremoniously dumped out after a 6-0 thumping by top-flight Brighton, who scored four times in the final half-hour.
Crystal Palace scored three times in the final quarter of an hour to come from behind and defeat Blackburn 3-1, Southampton won 2-0 at Sunderland and Nottingham Forest thrashed Plymouth 6-1.
Charlton came from a goal down to thump Ipswich 4-1, Birmingham won 3-1 at Burnley after extra time and Wolves edged Reading 2-1.
Leicester and London City Lionesses made sure of their spots in Monday night’s fifth-round draw with 4-0 wins over Derby and Moneyfields respectively.
Chelsea edge out Man City to claim fifth straight WSL title with thumping win at Old Trafford
Mayra Ramirez turned in a stellar performance to propel Chelsea to the WSL title in Emma Hayes' final match in charge as the Blues thrashed Manchester United 6-0.
Earlier in May, Hayes – who is ending a 12-year stint in charge of the Blues to become the United States coach – had all but given up on claiming a fifth straight WSL crown.
Yet Chelsea's 8-0 victory over Bristol City two weeks ago, combined with Manchester City's defeat to Arsenal, opened the door, and after beating Tottenham in midweek, the Blues knew a win, while maintaining their positive goal difference, would be enough.
And they made sure there was no room for error with an incredible first-half display inspired by Ramirez, who scored twice and set up goals for Johanna Rytting Kaneryd and Sjoeke Nusken at Old Trafford.
Melanie Leupolz got in on the act early in the second half as Chelsea's celebrations began in earnest, with Fran Kirby netting late on to complete the rout on her farewell appearance.
Ultimately, City – likely deflated by the news coming from Old Trafford – held up their end of the bargain, but shorn of top goalscorer Khadija Shaw, Gareth Taylor's team could only beat Aston Villa 2-1.
City were constantly chasing their title rivals, with Ramirez and Rytting Kaneryd putting Chelsea 2-0 up at United inside eight minutes.
Mary Fowler nudged City ahead at Villa Park, though when Taylor's team went in at the interval, they will have seen additional goals from record signing Ramirez and Nusken had all but sewn up the title for Chelsea already.
Leupolz has scored her first WSL goal in over two years to add further gloss for Chelsea when they came back out from the restart in Manchester, and City were then hit by a further blow when Rachel Daly equalised for Villa.
Lauren Hemp, who had assisted Fowler's opener, restored City's lead, though it was never going to be enough, with Kirby's farewell goal ensuring Chelsea finished with a goal difference of 53 compared to their rivals' 46.
Chelsea are now unbeaten across their last nine WSL games that have come on the final day of the season, while the Blues are now nine WSL matches without loss against United, having won eight of those fixtures.
Hoffenheim 4-2 Bayern Munich: Tuchel bows out on defeat thanks to Kramaric hat-trick
Bayern Munich squandered a two-goal lead to slump to a 4-2 loss at Hoffenheim courtesy of a second-half Andrej Kramaric hat-trick in Thomas Tuchel's final game.
Early goals from Mathys Tel and Alphonso Davies saw the injury-depleted Bavarians go 2-0 up by the sixth minute.
Hoffenheim, however, pulled a goal back through Germany international Maximilian Beier just two minutes later, with the hosts gradually taking some of the early pace out of the game.
Bayern's injury troubles were further compounded when they lost Aleksandar Pavlovic to injury in the 35th minute, and struggled to cope with Hoffenheim's threat in the second half.
Kramaric then delivered a stunning 19-minute hat-trick with the Bayern defence in ruins, ending a disappointing season in third place with 72 points.
Bayer Leverkusen finished in top spot on 90 points. VfB Stuttgart finished runners-up on 73 with a 4-0 demolition of Borussia Moenchengladbach, while Hoffenheim finished seventh, in the Europa Conference League place.
Data Debrief:
Thomas Muller made his 473rd Bundesliga appearance for Bayern on Saturday, drawing level with Sepp Maier as the club's record appearance maker in the competition.
Bayern failed to have a single shot on target in the second half, while Kramaric ran riot to subject Bayern to their worst league finish since 2011.
Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 Augsburg: Bundesliga champions make history with unbeaten season
Bayer Leverkusen became the first team in Bundesliga history to complete a full season unbeaten after beating Augsburg 2-1 on the final day.
Xabi Alonso's treble-chasing team also stretched their European record unbeaten run across all competitions this season to 51 matches.
Victor Boniface intercepted a ball from Augsburg keeper Tomas Koubek to tap in for the lead in the 12th minute before Robert Andrich, part of Germany's Euro 2024 preliminary squad, doubled the advantage from close range.
Augsburg cut the deficit when Mert Komur scored just after the hour.
Leverkusen captain Lukas Hradecky made a smart stop to maintain Leverkusen's clean sheet, as the Bundesliga champions held on to make history.
Alonso's team, who face Atalanta in the Europa League final on Wednesday and also take on Kaiserslautern in the DFB-Pokal final on May 25, finished on 90 points, 17 ahead of second-placed Stuttgart and 18 ahead of Bayern Munich, who lost 4-2 at Hoffenheim.
Data Debrief: Leverkusen's remarkable run rolls on
What an incredible season it has been for Leverkusen, and Alonso's men are now just two wins away from unprecedented success.
Leverkusen have become only the second team in Bundesliga history to not lose a single point from winning positions in a season, matching a feat Bayern managed in 2011-12.
They have won 45 points (W13 D3) in their 17 home games in the Bundesliga this season and have remained unbeaten at home for only the second time, after 1999-2000.
Leverkusen are the second club in league history to reach the 90-point mark, following Bayern (90 points in 2013-14 and 91 points in 2012-13).
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