The Women’s Super League (WSL) returned from winter break at the weekend and it was worth the wait.
Football under the lights on Friday night saw Liverpool edge out Brighton in a 2-1 win, before Meryside rivals Everton held Aston Villa to a 1-1 draw at Walton Corridor Park .
Super Sunday brought all the action as Chelsea extended their gap at the top of the league table thanks to a 5-0 demolition of West Ham United. London rivals Arsenal followed suit, beating Crystal Palace in a 5-0 victory at Meadow Park.
In an uneventful match in the English capital, Tottenham Hotspur claimed a 1-0 victory over Leicester Metropolis, all thanks to an unfortunate own goal from Janina Leitzig.
All eyes were then on the Etihad Stadium as the Manchester giants clashed. It was United who would finally claim the city’s bragging rights, with Ella Toone the hat-trick heroine.
90 minutes I have analyzed the six key learnings from week 11 of the WSL…
It was an evening to remember for Toone as United claimed Manchester bragging rights with a 4-2 victory over their city rivals. The midfielder’s first goal in the 14th minute would set the tone for the night, scoring her shot to silence the fans inside the Etihad.
The 25-year-old not only scored her first goal against Metropolis despite having played in 10 WSL derbies, but also wrote her name in history by completing a hat-trick in just 46 minutes.
On what was a theatrical night for United, the Cityzens will hope to erase any memory of the match. Two horrendous errors from Khiara Keating set up Toone for his second and third, and countless defensive problems left Metropolis with their mouths glued to the ground.
Marc Skinner will revel in victory, leapfrogging Metropolis into third place in the WSL standings, now level on points with second-placed Arsenal. Despite fans writing them off, United are still in contention to mix things up at the top of the table.
Alessia Russo is back on the Arsenal scoresheet. It may have been a touch to plunge the knife into a wounded Crystal Palace, but the goal marks the striker’s seventh in six consecutive league games. The 25-year-old is becoming everything Arsenal fans hoped for when they signed her in the summer of 2023.
Despite failing to score in the first five game weeks of the league season, Russo now sits just two goals behind Khadija Shaw in the Golden Boot total. With Metropolis’ powerhouse sidelined by injury, Russo cannot be ruled out in the race to overtake them in the goal standings.
Arsenal must now turn their attention to the crucial away games against Chelsea and Metropolis, and it is there that we will see whether or not Russo can score for the Gunners on the biggest stage.
Aside from beating National League side Ipswich City in the fourth round of the Adobe Women’s FA Cup, Man Metropolis has gone three straight games without a point. A toothless performance against Everton before the Christmas break could have been excused due to a long injury list, but what we saw on Sunday night was far worse than the defeat on Merseyside.
Shaw has been filling the gaps in this Metropolis team for several seasons, but she was not the only player who was greatly missed by the team in their last match. Alex Greenwood’s absence could be felt from a mile away, and Lauren Hemp’s omission proved costly.
Injuries can’t really be used as an excuse when a team’s starting lineup still includes players like Vivianne Miedema, Jess Park, Jill Roord and Mary Fowler. However, the attack is not the problem with Metropolis.
Gareth Taylor remains overly reliant on superstars to fix his broken defensive line, and United ruthlessly exposed those problems. The Cityzens welcomed defender Rebecca Knaak when the transfer window began, but her cameo in the derby showed they have barely overtaken the likes of Alanna Kennedy.
Metropolis are rumored to be in talks with Brazilian winger Kerolin and should probably reconsider his salary allocation and buy some defensive depth. Kerstin Casparij was discovered and Leila Ouahabi was defeated too easily due to her speed. If they want to get back into the race as title contenders, Metropolis must look to strengthen their defensive issues.
Seven points clear at the top of the WSL standings, Sonia Bompastor’s Bleus are running their own race. A 5-0 thrashing of West Ham United at the Chigwell Building Stadium now means Chelsea are 10 goals ahead of second-place Arsenal on goal difference.
Catarina Macario opened the scoring with a brilliant volley into the top left corner, setting the tone for the rest of Chelsea’s afternoon. Goals from Erin Cuthbert, Aggie Beever-Jones and Sandy Baltimore were enough to leave the Irons hanging, before an own goal from Amber Tysiak rubbed salt in the wound.
Bopastor was very successful when she took over as Emma Hayes’ successor, but the French coach has yet to lose a match. Chelsea now reach the halfway point of the season undefeated and with 31 points to their name.
At this point, it might take a miracle if any other team wants to knock them out of the race for a sixth straight WSL title.
It’s a remarkable statistic to discover when you realize that United, Arsenal and Chelsea scored more goals in Week 11 than Leicester Metropolis have all season. Another narrow 1-0 defeat saw the Foxes bow out in London after an unfortunate own goal by goalkeeper Leitzig.
Amandine Miquel’s team currently occupies eleventh place in the league standings and is just two points behind Crystal Palace in the relegation zone. With the Eagles awaiting the return of their 2023/24 leading scorer, Elise Hughes, now is the time for the Foxes to get to work.
With several injuries hampering their performances, Leicester must be aggressive in the transfer window if they are to avoid relegation this season. Miquel’s team will be boosted by the return of exciting striker Jutta Rantala, but if injury luck has told us anything, it is that they cannot rely on a single name to save them from the fall.
Defense hasn’t been an obvious problem so far, holding Chelsea and Arsenal to 1-1 and 1-0 scores, respectively. The team lacks creativity from the start and it will be detrimental to their campaign if they cannot find a solution in January.
I managed to repeat this goal by Olivia Smith #BarclaysWSL @LiverpoolFCW pic.twitter.com/kuYTkkPBGd
— Barclays Women’s Super League (@BarclaysWSL) January 18, 2025
Olivia Smith signed for Liverpool during the summer of 2024 and quickly showed why she is one of the most exciting prospects in the women’s game. The Canadian’s goal against Brighton & Hove Albion was sensational, giving the Seagulls rhythm before burying her shot in the back of the net.
Despite embarking on a fourth-place finish in the 2023/24 campaign, the Reds got off to a false start this season. Matt Beard was pleading with one of his players to show inspiration, and Smith certainly stepped up.
If Beard’s Reds are to reach the top half of the WSL table any time soon, they will depend on even more magic from Smith.
