10 things from women's soccer: Spurs stun Arsenal; Liverpool upset Man United; PSG win derby
Arsenal lost to Tottenham for the first time in the Women’s Super League (WSL), as Liverpool, Roma and Paris Saint-Germain came from behind. With most leagues across Europe preparing to taking a mini-break over the holiday period, there was still time for some surprising results and eye-catching performances before domestic duties turned in for their annual hibernations.
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Spurs claim North London honours over Arsenal
For as long as Arsenal have had a women’s team (36 years), North London has been red as meetings between the Gunners and Tottenham have been few and far between until 2019 when Spurs finally made it into the WSL. Even in their professional era, Tottenham have been a step or two behind the most-decorated club in the country, failing to beat Arsenal in their first seven WSL meetings.
But Spurs are currently undergoing a club-wide evolution, finding their footing in a more attacking style, and sealed their first-ever win over their local rivals on Saturday. Admittedly, the hosts were forced to defend for much of the 1-0 win, but the only goal of the game was notable for how it was scored.
A flowing move saw Spurs ping the ball around, beating the Arsenal press to bring it forward, and Celin Bizet’s sideways pass to Martha Thomas saw the striker hit the back of the net. Bizet and Thomas’ rich vein of form is a direct result of Robert Vilahamn’s tutorage and though Spurs are far from the finished article, there is plenty to suggest they are set up well for the future.
Liverpool fire back
In six previous WSL meetings, Liverpool had never beaten (or even scored against) Manchester United — falling to a bruising 6-0 loss in January. So when Ella Toone fired the hosts United ahead in the third minute and Melvine Malard missed a glorious chance to double the lead on Sunday lunchtime, it looked as if the Reds’ first win would have to wait a bit longer.
Liverpool have been erratic in the WSL so far, from an away win against Arsenal on the opening day to a 1-1 draw against Bristol City last time out. But when success has come for Matt Beard’s side, it has been when they’ve been able to stop their opponents’ way of playing.
Against United, Liverpool grew into the game and did well to press the ball. Grabbing an equaliser as Mel Lawley’s cross was flicked into her own net by Millie Turner in the first half, the Reds then took advantage in an open second half as Taylor Hinds bundled a winner home.
Finishing the calendar year in fifth, level with United, if Liverpool are to kick on they will need to keep playing to their own strengths, adapting to weaken the opposition and find some much-needed consistency.
Manchester United grow stale
United weren’t specifically “bad” against Liverpool, but last season’s WSL runners-up weren’t particularly inspiring either. With the general pace of their attack off, and not for the first time this season, manager Marc Skinner put it down to one thing. “It’s desire,” he said. “We lost too many headers. [Liverpool striker] Sophie Román Haug had a field day and it bleeds into the performance. We weren’t aggressive. It was a bad day for us.”
Although Skinner lost a couple of key players over the summer, he strengthened his team with attackers like Geyse and Malard. Yet the way United attack still feels stale. Against Liverpool, the hosts were unable to build their attacks in a way that would trouble their opponents and, although Liverpool’s backline had to be vigilant, goalkeeper Teagan Micah only came under light threat throughout.
United have now dropped 12 points and questions will be asked about how much they can improve over the second half of the season. If the lack of desire continues, they could well find themselves out of the top four.
Manchester City’s attack sparks win
Although City are behind leaders Chelsea in goals scored (26 vs. 31), and also in the table, their attack is arguably the most settled in the WSL and has helped them dominate games this season. Against an injury-hit Everton team on Sunday, the visitors got the job done in the first half as they raced into a 3-0 lead inside 25 minutes. A belter from Everton’s Aurora Galli early in the second half was only a consolation as Bunny Shaw hit her hat trick shortly after to seal a 4-1 win.
Although there is little surprise in how Gareth Taylor’s quality side have gone about their business in the WSL, their attack in particular has seen City make up for the ground lost earlier in the season.
Everton face a cold winter
Each time Brian Sørensen has faced the media ahead of a match this month, the Everton boss has added at least one more name to the growing list of players who won’t be available. Although some of those injured will be back in the new year, the sudden retirement of 26-year-old forward Nicoline Sørensen won’t help the manager when the league returns, neither will any upcoming departures in the January transfer window.
Against City, the Toffees offered some fight and had a fine goal to celebrate when Galli picked out the top corner from outside the box, but so much of Everton’s season so far has been about battling against the tide. Even with the winter break coming up, the waters don’t look to be calming.
West Ham bag a rare goal
West Ham don’t score many goals. In fact, they have scored the fewest in the WSL this season with eight from 10 games. Although the Irons have been under the cosh during plenty of their matches so far, they have still managed to dig out goal-scoring opportunities each time. But what they haven’t managed to do is convert them.
So it didn’t look promising when Lena Petermann gave Leicester City the lead in the 68th minute; less so when Hawa Cissoko was sent off in the 95th minute. But the Hammers worked hard and as the clock ticked down, Honoka Hayashi popped up to bundle Princess Ademiluyi‘s deflected cross home in the 98th minute to surprise everyone.
While it’s true that sometimes the ball simply doesn’t want to go in, it’s rare that an affliction like this follow a team all season. Yet, tied on five points at the foot of the table with Bristol City, West Ham will have to find a way of getting the ball into the back of the net if they want to avoid the drop.
PSG win derby with clinical finishing
Down 1-0 against Paris FC due to a penalty from Gaëtane Thiney in the fourth minute, Paris Saint-Germain fought their way back into the derby and equalised with their first shot on target: a penalty from Sandy Baltimore.
PSG’s second shot on target was the winning goal as Marie-Antoinette Katoto swept home just before half-time, and the visitors were able to hold on for a 2-1 win that closes the gap to Paris FC in second place to three points. After holding on against Roma in midweek to kickstart their Champions League campaign, the win over their rivals could well signal the start of a new era under coach Jocelyn Prêcheur.
Roma rule in Como thriller
Roma failed to take their chances against PSG in that game and returned to Serie A to face a frustrating Como side in Lombardy this weekend. And, much like the end of their Champions League match, the visitors managed to create plenty of goal-scoring opportunities but consistently struggled to take them.
Going behind to Dominika Škorvánková’s first-half opener, Le Giallorosse kept plugging away and eventually won a penalty that Elena Linari netted for an equaliser. Miriam Picchi’s instant response saw Roma need to find another from Lucia Di Guglielmo, before Linari once again converted from the spot to wrap up a 3-2 win.
Four goals in nine second-half minutes certainly made it interesting but, again, it was Roma scraping by — something that manager Alessandro Spugna won’t want to become a regular occurrence. The Serie A champions have 11 wins from 11 games now and always seem to have another trick up their sleeve, while the attacking flow of the team is the biggest reason for their success.
Juventus stumble
The squad available to Joe Montemurro isn’t a bad one by any stretch of the imagination — indeed, it’s one of the best in Italy — yet monotony is creeping into the team who came up nine points short behind Roma last season.
In a 1-0 defeat to seventh-placed Sampdoria, the frustration was palpable from the Bianconere as they were a little too obvious in how they attacked and their best chances were followed by sub-par shots. Then, just when it looked like they were heading for a scoreless draw, the hosts struck through Asia Bragonzi, depriving Juventus of even a lone point and opening the gap to Roma at the top of the table to six points.
The growth in Serie A over recent years has allowed a lot of the league to catch up [to a degree] and put out stronger squads, which means more competitive games each week. But this, coupled with Roma’s ability to dig out results, must leave Juventus wondering how they can stop their rivals from winning another Scudetto.
Bavarian derby ends all square
Left frustrated after a midweek draw with Ajax in the Champions League, Bayern Munich‘s first trip to the Max Morlock Stadion to face Nürnberg in the league should have been the salvation. Yet it ended up mirroring their last outing.
Having taken the lead in the opening exchanges through Lea Schüller — as they did against Ajax — the second goal refused to drop for the Bavarians and they had little response as Nürnberg warmed into the tie. When Medina Dešić struck her penalty under the outstretched arm of Mala Grohs to bring it back to 1-1, there were still 18 minutes left on the clock. But Bayern again failed to find a go-ahead goal and dropped two vital points.
The symmetry between the two matches this week can’t be ignored, with Munich labouring in the box and allowing their opposition to fire back. With one more game before the winter break — the away trip to Ajax — if Bayern don’t find their way to the back of the net in the next few days, their Champions League dream could come unstuck.
