The Women’s Super League is back and fans were treated to a thrilling weekend with two shock results in particular.
Defending champions Chelsea fell to a 2-1 defeat to newly promoted Liverpool and Manchester City lost to Aston Villa for the first time in the league.
Despite the two giants of English football not picking up any points, the top of the table still has familiar faces.
Arsenal and Manchester United are joint top after both winning their openers 4-0. But the unexpected turn of events has already blown the league wide open.
Here are five things we learned:
Man City feel Walsh’s absence
England’s Keira Walsh was among a whole host of stars who left Manchester City this summer but she is arguably their biggest loss. The defensive midfielder, who won Euro 2022 with England in July, is one of the best players in the world right now.
She exited City for Barcelona for a record fee in women’s football. It was clear the English club didn’t want to lose her, rejecting an initial offer, but Walsh reportedly made it clear she wanted a new challenge and she was reluctantly permitted to head to Catalonia.
Manager Gareth Taylor had tempered fans’ expectations ahead of their clash with Aston Villa, saying the team needed time to bed in new signings. But no one expected the result that came. A 4-3 loss dealt City their first league opener defeat since 2014 and Walsh’s absence was immediately noticeable.
The holes and space left in the midfield allowed Villa to run rings around the visitors and commentator Fara Williams remarked she had not seen a City side give away as much possession as the side did on Sunday. When Walsh was at the club, she pulled the strings and shut down attacking options. Villa played well and likely would have scored on multiple occasions even if the England star was playing, especially with their new signing Rachel Daly proving to be a livewire, but after City fought back to lead 3-2, they could have benefited from her nous to maintain that advantage.
There is a Walsh-shaped hole in their midfield and they need to fill it sharpish if they want a chance to compete for the title this season.
Liverpool lay down early marker
Matt Beard’s Liverpool left Chelsea shell-shocked on Sunday with a 2-1 win to upset the defending champions. It was the first WSL match to have three penalties scored in it, with Katie Stengel converting from the spot twice to give the Reds their fairytale return to the top flight.
Liverpool were promoted to the WSL after winning the Championship last season and were expected to fall to a heavy defeat against the Blues. But a sublime defensive display, combined with spot-kick opportunism after going 1-0 down after just three minutes, saw them deservedly come away with three points.
Many would think Liverpool’s goal would be to avoid relegation this season but the result has laid down an early marker. Player-of-the-match Stengel said: “It’s stupid to ever say you just want to stay in the league. We’re here to compete, we’re not just here to survive. Let’s make a run for it. We’re in the league to win each game. We won’t go into any game just wanting to be here and be happy.”
Neville deserves England shot
Tottenham’s Ashleigh Neville impressed in the league last campaign, which led to many fans calling for the defender to be named in the England squad, although she is still awaiting her first international cap.
Some players would allow the rejection to impact their game but instead, Neville has continued her fine form. She scored the goal of the round with a worldie of a 40-yard screamer against Leicester City on Sunday. Having spotted goalkeeper Kirstie Levell off her line, she thundered the ball towards goal, rattling the back of the net.
She will be hoping England manager Sarina Wiegman was watching; there’s not much more the 29-year-old can do to demonstrate why she should get a call-up.
VAR will be discussion focus once more
VAR may have been introduced to the men’s game in 2019 but the women’s domestic competitions do not have it operating in their matches. This was a discussion point last season with offside calls and ghost goals seeing many, including Chelsea manager Emma Hayes, calling for the WSL to bring it in.
The technology will be spoken about again this season, particularly with two calls by officials proving particularly controversial. The first was Brighton’s Emma Kullberg’s red card against Arsenal on Friday night. Kullberg tackled Stina Blackstenius on the edge of the box and was shown a straight red after just seven minutes – the Gunners went on to win 4-0. However, Blackstenius was in an offside position when receiving the ball.
Brighton have lodged an appeal with the Football Association with Kullberg telling Fotbollskanalen: “It’s up to the FA now. I hope they watch the clips again and see that they have made a wrongful decision. Best case scenario, they take back my red card.”
The other decision coming under scrutiny was a Chelsea goal which was chalked off due to the offside flag being raised against Sam Kerr. The Australian captain was played through and found the net but the flag went up to prevent her from doubling Chelsea’s lead. Commentators and fans alike were unconvinced of the call, with many arguing the goal should have stood.
Euros impact evident
The impact of the European Championship, particularly England taking the trophy, was evident to see over the summer with clubs reporting record season ticket sales. But it was particularly highlighted on the opening weekend with record attendances at the majority of matches.
Arsenal’s Meadow Park sold out and Liverpool’s Prenton Park saw 3,006 fans descend to see their impressive win.
The WSL is growing and the exciting football on display is only going to benefit that.
