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...
Chelsea fly WSL flag in Champions League, Manchester City set up dramatic final day and Williams signs off with a goalAs the final whistle blew on Chelsea’s 4-1 win against Bayern Munich I had tears in my eyes, knowing what the result would mean to Emma Hayes and her team, and for women’s football in this country. The game was mesmerising, emotional and breathless until the end. Related: ‘Dreams come true’: Hayes emotional as Chelsea reach Champions League final Continue reading...
Galton cements star status at Manchester United, rampaging Foord takes centre stage for Arsenal and Fishlock is flyingWith Chelsea’s match against Tottenham one of two WSL games postponed because of Covid outbreaks – and another falling foul of a waterlogged pitch – Manchester United extended their lead at the top by thrashing the division’s bottom team, Bristol City, 6-1. There were another two goals for Leah Galton, who is absolutely on fire and enjoying playing higher up on the left. Though the US internationals Tobin Heath and Christen Press got a lot of the attention when they arrived in the summer, Galton has come in and undoubtedly been their star of the season so far. Bristol were resolute in the...
Arsenal are back on top of the table but victory over West Ham papered over defensive issues while Chelsea are back in formArsenal shot back to the top of the league with a 4-2 win over West Ham, but this was a far from perfect performance. The teams went into half-time at 2-2, and the leaders were then given what their usually mild-mannered manager, Joe Montemurro, described as their biggest telling-off of the season. He spent much of the last two weeks training against long balls and set pieces, only to watch his side twice fail to deal with long kicks from the West Ham goalkeeper, Becky Spencer, which released the Swiss forward Alisha Lehmann to set up Scotland’s Jane...