Miedema hits incredible mark, Zelem does the unthinkable – twice – and Manchester City continue upwards trajectoryJust one goal Vivianne? A mere 25% of your team’s total production this weekend? Yes, the Dutch forward only scored once in the 4-2 win against Birmingham on Sunday, making the most of a loose ball in Birmingham’s pinball penalty box. She made it look simple and Miedema most likely puts dozens of those away in training, probably without looking. It is sometimes difficult to put in context just how good she is but one way to illustrate it is that the goal made her the first player in WSL history to reach 100 goal involvements What if we were to also say that...
The two Manchester clubs are on the rise while Arsenal have made signings in an attempt to stop the rotWest Ham battled well to claim a 1-1 draw with Tottenham on Sunday night after Hawa Cissoko put her team in the worst possible position. The Hammers were 1-0 down after 54 minutes and Cissoko, who was responsible for the tackle that led to Spurs’ penalty, was sent off two minutes later for a second yellow card. But West Ham managed to claw back a point in the dying moments through a Kate Longhurst header in the 92nd minute. The comeback highlights the team’s progression as last season they could well have sunk being a goal and a player down. But...
Teams with new managers and a point between them meet on Sunday and a win could be a huge step away from the dropFew matches arrive with much jeopardy just nine games into a 22-game season but on the eve of the Women’s Super League winter break, Sunday’s meeting of Leicester City and Birmingham could not feel any more tense.For both teams, who are separated by the single point Birmingham collected from a 1-1 draw with West Ham in October, with new managers hired last month, taking three points at Filbert Way could swing fortunes and provide the first step away from the WSL’s single relegation place. Continue reading...
Things looking up for Manchester City, United need signings, Reading on the rise and Carter has a big job at Birmingham Manchester City’s dominant 5-0 defeat of Aston Villa was their third win in eight league games. After suffering a tough 4-0 loss to Chelsea at the Academy Stadium and then a League Cup defeat to Manchester United on Wednesday night, the second-half goal-fest against Villa could be the start of a turnaround in the club’s fortunes. However, the biggest wins for Gareth Taylor’s under-pressure side this weekend came elsewhere. The defeats suffered by Brighton, Tottenham and Manchester United mean last season’s runners-up sit just five points off third and only two behind their derby rivals. Suddenly Champions League football...
Chelsea have a full-back problem, Toone lifts Manchester United after exodus and Leicester learn a harsh WSL lessonWhen Arsenal’s forward Vivianne Miedema wrong-footed the 23-year-old defender Jess Carter and slotted in Arsenal’s first goal against Chelsea on Sunday afternoon the problem that haunted the reigning champions at the end of last season was evident at the start of the new one. Injury to the superb Maren Mjelde in March left Chelsea light at the back, not in numbers but in experience. Carter and Niamh Charles shared right-back duties during the run-in and did well but Mjelde’s absence ruptured things. Where Jonna Andersson’s weaknesses had been papered over by the strengths of Mjelde, Millie Bright and Magda Eriksson alongside her, now...