10 things from women’s soccer: Arsenal bully Chelsea; PSG struggle
Credit to Author: Sophie Lawson| Date: Mon, 11 Dec 2023 07:28:45 EST
Arsenal beat Chelsea to go level with them at the top of the Women’s Super League (WSL), while Liga F leaders Barcelona continued their dominance as Real Madrid conceded late goals against Sevilla. And all is not right with Paris Saint-Germain. If there’s one thing we learned from football across Europe this weekend, it’s that anything can change in the final minutes.
– Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)
Arsenal turn on the style against Chelsea
In a statement performance, Arsenal “bullied” Chelsea (Emma Hayes’ postmatch words) in a 4-1 win played in front of a record crowd of 59,042 at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday lunchtime.
The Gunners were on point from the opening minutes and scored three goals in the first half as Beth Mead netted in the eighth minute and Alessia Russo and Victoria Pelova ran the show. Chelsea boss Hayes looked visibly frustrated on the sidelines as her team failed to find their connections and were unable to play their way through the Arsenal press.
A raft of half-time changes, including a formation change, were unable to turn the tide and Russo’s 74th-minute penalty ensured that Arsenal closed the gap at the top of the table — now just behind their title rivals on goal difference — to hand Chelsea their first WSL defeat of the season.
A loss like this has been something that has often fuelled the Blues over Hayes’ tenure, so good luck to in-form Häcken who travel to Stamford Bridge to face the English champions in the Champions League on Thursday.
Malard hands Tottenham another defeat
Before the international break, Tottenham were handed a 7-0 loss away to Manchester City that didn’t feel like it warranted such a heavy scoreline and, on Sunday, Manchester United came away with something similar in a comfortable 4-0 win.
The goals that Spurs seemed to score in abundance at the start of the season have disappeared and Robert Vilahamn’s side are struggling to make the pieces come together — though a punishing run of fixtures has contributed to their five-game winless streak.
Vilahamn has been clear that there will be setbacks, but his biggest challenge is to get his side to stay in games after conceding and not letting panic set in. That didn’t happen here as Hannah Blundell‘s cross caused confusion and was tapped home by Melvine Malard in the 29th minute, before the France international turned provider for Ella Toone and then scored a third before the hour mark. Hailey Ladd‘s swirling finish then left goalkeeper Becky Spencer rooted in place for the fourth.
Spurs didn’t play badly and the return of striker Beth England — who played 55 minutes after hip surgery — was a boost. But they need to stop the flow of goals and find a way to get back to how things were at the start of the season.
Terland to the rescue
Brighton have been struggling with consistency this season, which is understandable given the heavy turnover of players over the summer, and results — even allowing for a tough run against last season’s top four — have been erratic to say the least.
Against Leicester, the Seagulls again had the look of a new team and were pushed around by their opponents (who had 66% possession) as two goals either side of the break looked to have settled the game. But Norway goal-machine Elisabeth Terland had other ideas as she was on hand to bail Brighton out with a brace in the final eight minutes that sealed a 2-2 draw.
Terland is now the WSL’s top scorer with seven, but has netted 70% of Brighton’s goals herself and that will need to change if the team are to rise up the table.
Villa let Hemp run riot
Having taken the lead in the seventh minute through Danielle Turner at the Joie Stadium, it was always going to be a tough ask for struggling Aston Villa to hold on against Manchester City. Yet there were moments when the visitors looked like they could ride out the storm thanks to a mix of last-ditch defending and slices of luck.
In end, it was sloppy marking on England forward Lauren Hemp which proved to be their downfall, as she was left free twice in the space of four minutes in the second half to seal a 2-1 win for City.
In stark contrast their title-chasing men’s team this season, everything has rather lost its sheen for Villa. Last year they were threatening to become the best of the rest, but an attack that impressed so much has struggled to keep in games and the midfield is too easily overrun. Villa have now lost seven times from nine games and if they want to find stability then bringing in fresh young players in the transfer window next month is a must.
Everton get a result
Albeit without the 10-point deduction handed to the men’s team, Everton’s women haven’t been having the best season, with eight points from eight games, and with six players unavailable for their trip to Dagenham it looked a tough ask to beat West Ham.
But while they’ve not been overly impressive, the Toffees have consistently found those all-important wins — thanks in no small part to Courtney Brosnan‘s work in goal — to keep clear of the drop zone. And they did so again, with Karen Holmgaard‘s 63rd-minute headed effort enough to hand the Hammers a club-record fifth consecutive defeat in the WSL.
For West Ham, who sink to the foot of the table, it was another wasted opportunity with chances not taken in front of goal. But Everton will be proud that they have once again gotten themselves out of a sticky situation.
Geyoro snatches draw but PSG stumble
All over Le Havre in the opening exchanges in the French Division 1 Féminine on Sunday, PSG were stunned as Ines Benyahia snatched the ball away and carried it up field before firing low across Katarzyna Kiedrzynek‘s goal to open the scoring in the 19th minute.
Then, no matter how they came at the home team (18 shots; 70% possession), PSG could not find a way through until, with seconds of stoppage time left, Grace Geyoro snatched a point with a fine free kick.
All in all, it was a laborious showing from PSG and the third-placed side lack the incision of table-toppers Lyon — who have 10 wins from 10. For Le Havre, who have two wins and six draws from the first 10 rounds, it was one of their better showings. Yes, they were camped in a firm defensive shape but countered with real bite and intention, which should serve them well in the second half of the season.
Real Madrid short of luck as Sevilla leave it late
From Oihane Hernández’s own goal at the start of the second half, to having their [first] equaliser incorrectly chalked off for offside, Real Madrid found themselves short on luck in a 3-1 defeat at home to Sevilla on Saturday evening.
Gabriele Marcotti and Julien Laurens dive into the latest news and gossip, analyze matches with special guests, and give their perspective on the world of football. Stream now
Caroline Møller’s 85th-minute effort looked like it had sealed a draw for a team who have benefited from late goals so often this term, but they were undone by a pair of stoppage-time strikes from Sevilla as the hosts went missing at the back.
Now down to third place in Liga F, Las Blancas are getting lost in a jumble of teams going for the last European berth and will need to start coming up with some new ideas if they’re to stay in the hunt.
Brugts hat trick helps beat resilient Eibar
Eibar, who are 14th in the 16-team league, did well in the first half away to Barcelona, but their fine defensive work only delayed the inevitable as the hosts found the breakthrough in the 57th minute through Caroline Graham Hansen and then the floodgates opened in an eventual 5-0 win.
Esmee Brugts netted her first a minute later with a cute side-heeled finish, and her second came soon after as she was left alone in front of an open goal. The 20-year-old then completed an eight-minute hat trick with a deft toe poke at Amaia Peña’s near post to hand Barca their 11th win from 11 games this season.
Roma find a way
Roma were mostly on top during the first half of their 2-1 win over AC Milan — which is about what you would have expected of the Italian champions — but it was Kosovare Asllani‘s 24th-minute penalty which had them behind at the break.
Yet to drop a point in Serie A so far this season, Roma continued to plug away until Manuela Giugliano swept home from inside the box just before the hour and their comeback was completed by Lucia Di Guglielmo six minutes later when she threaded a shot through the crowd to beat Laura Giuliani.
The two teams have endured different fortunes in the Italian league this season. Roma, who are now in a two-horse race with Juventus for the title, have shown the type of resilience and style that will get you far in the Champions League. Milan, with five defeats from 10 games, have not.
Frankfurt also find a way
From one UCL side to another, and one home comeback to another. It wasn’t the best of starts for Eintracht Frankfurt against TSG Hoffenheim as they fell behind four minutes into the tie, but they persevered and, after having three bites of the cherry, restored parity ahead of the break with a goal from Lara Prasnikar.
Having looked a little disjointed, the hosts improved into the second half and soon had the lead thanks to Nicole Anyomi. From there on it didn’t look as if Frankfurt would surrender the lead and they didn’t, as a stoppage-time strike from Shekiera Martinez made it 3-1.
There is now a three-point gap between Frankfurt in third and Hoffenheim in fourth but, in more sense than one, Germany’s other teams continue to trail leaders Wolfsburg and second-placed Bayern.