Another entertaining weekend in the WSL saw Chelsea extend their unbeaten run, City get back to winning ways, United win again, Tottenham edge a 5-goal thriller at Palace, Leicester win and West Ham beat struggling Everton. Here are four things we learned this week.
1. Chelsea are miles ahead of the rest
On Sunday afternoon Chelsea hosted Arsenal in a London derby at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea edged a pretty tight game 1-0 thanks to a Guro Reiten penalty in the 84th minute. Arsenal competed well for large parts of the game but Chelsea always looked in control and should’ve scored more than just the one. The game also saw Katie McCabe sent off for dissent.
The Blues are miles ahead of the rest of the league as they have only dropped two points in 12 WSL games which was when they drew 1-1 with Leicester back in December, otherwise, they are unbeaten in all competitions. Regardless if they are losing/struggling in a game Chelsea always seem to find a way to win or grab a vital point. They have also only conceded 6 goals in the WSL all season, and have scored a league-high of 37.
Sonia Bompastor’s squad is stacked with both attacking and defensive talent and adding to that they announced world record signing Naomi Girma before kick-off on Sunday. It’s hard to look past them winning the quadruple this season.
2. Ella Toone has found her scoring boots
There is no doubt on anyone’s mind that Lioness star Ella Toone is an exceptionally talented player and is a true icon of the WSL. But after tragically losing her dad to cancer in September she has understandably not been herself as much.
However, in United’s last two games, she has shown why she is loved by so many fans and has found her goalscoring boots as she has managed four goals including a hat-trick against Manchester City at the Etihad last weekend and a goal after two minutes against Brighton on Sunday.
If Tooney can keep her incredible form going, this summer at the Women’s Euros she could become a key player once again for Sarina Wiegman and help inspire the Lionesses to glory yet again.
3. Beth England is a top striker
Since leaving Chelsea we don’t hear as much about Beth England but this weekend she once again proved why she is one of the top WSL strikers. The Spurs captain stepped up when her side needed her most as she added 2 goals to her already incredible tally and helped her side beat Palace 3-2. This season the England forward is now up to 7 goals and sits level with Alessia Russo and Guro Reiten and is just two behind the great Bunny Shaw. Sarina Wiegman will be keeping a close eye on Beth and Lionesses and Spurs fans will be hoping to see more of her in an England shirt come this Summer.
She also became the first player to score against every club to have played in the WSL, what an achievement!
4. Palace not out the league just yet
Despite only picking up five points in their opening 12 games, Palace aren’t out of the WSL fight just yet. This weekend against Spurs despite being 2-0 down at half-time, in the second half they played brilliantly and scored two goals themselves and ultimately deserved a point, Spurs just prevailed in the 95th minute.
Aside from a 5-0 defeat to Arsenal, in recent games Palace have been rather unlucky to not get at least a draw. They just need to sure it up a bit more at the back and start pushing for more goals. But ultimately, this is their first time in the WSL this season so regardless of what happens it’s a big learning curve for a lot of these players going forward. But there are still 10 games to go, and they have to face all the sides towards the bottom half of the table so they could still pull off survival.
Next weekend’s WSL fixtures are below as well as kick-off times and if you can watch them on TV:
Man City vs Arsenal – KO 12:00 (BST), Sky Sports Premier League
Brighton vs Crystal Palace – KO 14:00 (BST)
Everton vs Leicester – KO 14:00 (BST)
Liverpool vs West Ham – KO 14:00 (BST)
Aston Villa vs Chelsea – KO 14:30 (BST), BBC Two, BBC Sport
Tottenham vs Man United – KO 18:45 (BST), Sky Sports Football/Premier League