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Chelsea named Women Super League champions ahead of league leaders Man City

Chelsea have been crowned 2019-20 Women's Super League champions after the Football Association board opted for a basic points per game model.

The FA confirmed on May 25 the season of WSL -- the top tier for women's football in England -- would not be finished due to the coronavirus outbreak and on Friday the FA announced the standings in the final table would be decided on points per game.

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That saw Chelsea leapfrog Manchester City to the top of the WSL. When the league was postponed on March 13, Manchester City led the WSL by a point but second-place Chelsea had a game in hand.

The model chosen by the FA sees City fall to second and join Chelsea in qualifying for next season's Champions League.

At the other end of the table, the decision sees Liverpool relegated to the Championship and Aston Villa promoted.

"Football pales into insignificance at a time like this, but it also has the capacity to bring joy and happiness to fans and communities everywhere. For my players and staff, winning the league is something to be proud of and I will tell them that when I speak to them," Chelsea manager Emma Hayes said in a statement.

"A lot of blood, sweat and tears from every player, at every club, has gone in to this season and it is important we recognise that and celebrate the fact we have ended a highly-competitive season as champions.

"The title-race was shaping up to be one of the best this country has ever witnessed and we look forward to competing again when the WSL resumes."

Two-time WSL champions Liverpool said in a statement and said they were "disappointed" with the decision to relegate the club.

"We believe we would have been able to meet all operational requirements but a return to play was deemed impractical," it added.

"As proud founder members of the WSL, our fans greatly value our position within the league and we hoped for the opportunity to secure our status on the pitch."

The FA board had originally asked clubs to provide their views on how best the season should be finished.

This then served as the clubs' recommendation and the FA board decided on this outcome as the "most appropriate" sporting outcome for 2019-20.

"Firstly, I would like to thank the clubs for their ongoing collaboration and support throughout this period," Kelly Simmons, FA Director of the Women's Professional Game, said.

"They have played a crucial role in helping to shape the decision-making process, with the welfare of the players and clubs first and foremost.

"I would also like to congratulate the players, coaches and staff of Chelsea and Aston Villa. Although the 2019-20 season has been prematurely curtailed, it has been a hard-fought campaign and their success is well deserved, with the outcome based on sporting merit.

"Women's football has made huge strides in recent years, and The FA has been at the forefront of investment and support to help grow women's football at every level of the game. Our commitment to the women's game is unwavering and we will continue to work closely with the clubs to ensure we come back even stronger for the 2020-21 campaign."

Despite confirmation on Friday that the men's FA Cup would resume on June 27, a decision has yet to be made on the women's competition. There were three rounds remaining of the tournament when it was suspended.

"Conversations are still ongoing, and we want to ensure that if there is a way to complete the world's best domestic cup competition, then we want to give it every chance -- and we will have more news on this soon," Simmons said.

Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Brighton, Birmingham City, Everton, Chelsea, Leicester City and Manchester City had all qualified for the quaterfinals.

The 2020-21 season is scheduled to begin the weekend of September 5th-6th.