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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Suzanne Wrack, Sophie Downey, Renuka Odedra and Andy Hunter

Women’s Super League: talking points from the weekend’s action

From left; Alisha Lehmann of Aston Villa, Filippa Angeldahl with Lauren Hemp of Manchester City and Lucia Garcia of Manchester United.
From left; Alisha Lehmann of Aston Villa, Filippa Angeldahl with Lauren Hemp of Manchester City and Lucia Garcia of Manchester United. Composite: Getty Images

Clubs need to do more if weekend showcase is to shine

Women’s Football Weekend has become a staple of the season after its launch in 2019. It’s a smart idea, capitalising on the men’s international break to highlight the women’s game. This time was no different, with the Football Association, Sky and the BBC heavily promoting the fixtures, which were spread across the weekend. Big crowds duly followed, but there was disappointment with the north London derby being hosted at Brisbane Road while the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was used for Saracens versus Harlequins. The pitch was so poor at Leyton Orient that it was deemed unfit for the women’s match the following day. Meanwhile, Manchester City hosted 5,222 at a packed Academy Stadium while the Etihad across the road loomed large and empty. The FA and broadcasters need the full buy-in of clubs if they are going to make the most of this particular showcase of women’s football. SW

City blow the title race wide open

After Manchester City’s energetic 2-0 victory over Chelsea on Sunday, their manager, Gareth Taylor, reiterated his belief that had his side lost, their opponents would have gone on to win the title. As it is, City’s win, their first in the league over Chelsea under Taylor, has blown the title race wide open. It remains Chelsea’s to lose though. They are one point behind City and Manchester United with a game in hand and only one game remaining against the top-four sides (as opposed to City and United’s two and Arsenal’s three), but they appear to be struggling with injuries as well as with a lack of ideas and options. A tricky game lies ahead, with Aston Villa, the WSL’s best of the rest, awaiting Chelsea after Thursday’s Champions League quarter-final second leg against Lyon. SW

Eye-catching García finally settling at United

When Lucía García arrived at Manchester United last summer, there was plenty of anticipation around what she could achieve. Instead, it has proved to be a slow start at Old Trafford for the 24-year-old Spain international with eight starts and five goals. But if her performance at the weekend is anything to go by, she is starting to settle. A substitute in the second half against West Ham, García scored the goal of the game with a sublime touch and finish before adding another in injury time. It was a performance that caught the eye of her manager, Marc Skinner. “She’s just taken a little bit of time to adapt to the league,” he said. “When I talk about the ‘Red Devil energy’, it’s her. The way she moves, the way she presses, the way she invades space on the shoulder. She needs to keep it up now.” SD

Pelova and Foord show no mercy in derby drubbing

Victoria Pelova and Caitlin Foord ran the show for Arsenal in their ruthless 5-1 victory over Tottenham. Stina Blackstenius, who was a livewire at Leyton Orient, opened Arsenal’s account with a thunderous shot and Kim Little and Frida Maanum also got on the scoresheet. Foord scored twice and had Pelova to thank for them. The pair worked well together against opponents who were trapped in their own half for most of the game. “Spurs seem to be the team I can put a few away against,” said Foord. RO

Caitlin Foord celebrates scoring Arsenal’s second goal against Tottenham alongside Noelle Maritz, Victoria Pelova and Kim Little
Caitlin Foord celebrates scoring Arsenal’s second goal against Tottenham alongside Noelle Maritz, Victoria Pelova and Kim Little. Photograph: Paul Childs/Action Images/Reuters

Low-key rivalry makes for a healthy Merseyside meeting

The size was not the only healthy aspect of the crowd for Friday night’s Merseyside derby at Goodison Park. There were 22,161 in attendance as Everton and Liverpool played out an entertaining 1-1 draw – the previous record at Goodison had been 5,998 – which took the combined total for the two derbies this season to an impressive 49,735. It was a family-friendly occasion with blues and reds sat side-by-side, but for all the talk of local rivalry pulling in the crowds the Liverpool manager, Matt Beard, spoke passionately about the need to protect the atmosphere. “What we don’t want is it to become like the men’s game,” he said. “Families come to our games and the last thing we want is to create an atmosphere where it’s unsettling for the kids. We have to be careful when talking about rivalry, I don’t think it’s right. These young girls are going to follow their teams throughout their life, this is the start of that journey.” AH

Lehmann lights up another electric Villa showing

Aston Villa’s goal of securing a top-six place move one step closer after they put five past Leicester. They illustrated why they are one of the most exciting teams in the division; in full flow, any one of their attackers can pick opponents apart in an instant. Rachel Daly regularly gets the headlines – she scored twice on Sunday – but Alisha Lehmann was central to proceedings at Villa Park. The Swiss international’s productivity is sometimes questioned, but two goals and an assist showed what she can accomplish. “Such an unbelievable talent,” said Carla Ward, the Villa manager. “It’s important we’ve got people like Alisha Lehmann in the building because she’s a top pro and a top teammate”. SD

Reading and Brighton add to relegation drama

Sunday’s draw between Reading and Brighton proved there is drama in the battle for survival as well for the title. Things initially went the way of Brighton as Veatriki Sarri scored two first-half goals for the visitors, but somewhat inevitably their suspect defensive capabilities came to the fore, allowing Reading to get back into the contest via two wonderful second-half goals from the substitute Emma Harries. Exciting stuff and there is more to come at the bottom of the table before the end of the season. RO

Pos Team P GD Pts
1 Man Utd Women 16 33 38
2 Man City Women 16 20 38
3 Chelsea Women 15 25 37
4 Arsenal Women 15 29 35
5 Aston Villa Women 16 7 29
6 Everton Women 15 2 21
7 West Ham Women 16 -13 16
8 Liverpool FC Women 15 -11 15
9 Tottenham Hotspur Women 16 -15 12
10 Reading Women 16 -18 11
11 Brighton & Hove Albion Women 14 -28 9
12 Leicester Women 16 -31 7
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