6 key takeaways from WSL Gameweek 11

The Women’s Super League (WSL) returned from the winter break at the weekend and it was well worth the wait.

Friday night’s football under lights saw Liverpool beat Brighton 2-1 before their Merseyside rivals Everton were held to a 1-1 draw by Aston Villa at Walton Hall 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 he followed suit, overpowering Crystal Palace in a 5-0 win at Meadow Park.

An uneventful game in the English capital saw Tottenham Hotspur win 1-0 over Leicester City, all thanks to an unlucky own goal from Janina Leitzig.

Then all eyes were on the Etihad Stadium as the Manchester giants locked horns. it was United which would eventually claim the city’s bragging rights, with Ella Toon emerging as the hat-trick hero.

90 minutes reviewed the six key takeaways from Matchday 11 WSL…

It was a night to remember for Toone as United claimed Manchester City rights in a 4-2 win over their city rivals. The midfielder’s 14th-minute opener would set the tone for the evening, capping off her goal to silence the fans inside the Etihad.

Not only did the 25-year-old score her first goal against City Despite playing in 10 WSL derbies, she also made history by completing a hat-trick in just 46 minutes.

In a night of drama for United, the Cityzens will be hoping to erase all memory of the match. Two horrific blunders from Khiara Keating set up Toone for her second and third, and countless defensive woes left City with their jaws glued to the floor.

Marc Skinner will enjoy the win, leapfrogging City into third in the WSL standings, now level on points with second-placed Arsenal. Despite the fans counting them out, United remain in good contention to shake things up at the top of the table.

Alessia Russo once again got on the scoresheet for Arsenal. It may have been a blow to sink 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 what Arsenal fans hoped for when they signed her in the summer of 2023.

Despite not scoring in the first five league games of the season, Russo is now just two goals behind Khadija Shaw in the golden boot standings. With the City force sidelined by injury, there is no disqualifying Russo from the race to overtake her in the goalscoring standings.

Arsenal must now turn their attention to crucial away games against Chelsea and City, and that’s where we’ll see whether or not Russo can score for the Gunners on the biggest stage.

Apart from seeing off National League side Ipswich Town in the fourth round of the Adobe Women’s FA Cup, Manchester City have gone three games in a row without picking up a point. A lackluster performance against Everton before the Christmas break could be excused due to a lengthy injury list, but what we saw on Sunday night was far worse than the defeat on Merseyside.

Shaw has been plugging the holes on this side of town for several seasons now, but she wasn’t the only player the team missed out on in their latest clash. The absence of Alex Greenwood was felt from a mile away and the omission of Lauren Hemp proved costly.

Injuries can’t really be used as an excuse when a team’s starting line-up still includes Vivianne Miedema, Jess Park, Jill Roord and Mary Fowler. However, it is not the attack that serves as City’s problem.

Gareth Taylor remains overly reliant on superstars to fix his damaged back line and United have exposed these issues in ruthless fashion. The Cityzens welcomed back defender Rebecca Knaak as the transfer window kicked off, but her derby proved they are little upgraded from Alanna Kennedy.

Rumored to be in talks with Brazilian winger Carolin, City should probably rethink their salary allocation and buy some defensive depth. Kerstin Casparij was discovered and Leila Ouahabi was beaten very easily for speed. If they are to return to the race as title contenders, City must look to shore up their defensive woes.

Seven points clear at the summit of the WSL Championship, Sonia Bompastor’s Blues are running their own race. A 5-0 win over West Ham at the Chigwell Construction Stadium now means Chelsea are 10 goals clear of second-placed Arsenal’s goal difference.

Catarina Macario opened the scoring with a stunning volley that curled into the top left corner, setting the tone for the rest of Chelsea’s afternoon. Goals from Erin Cuthbert, Aggie Beaver-Jones and Sandy Baltimore were enough to let the Irons hang their heads, before an own goal from Amber Tysiak rubbed salt into the wound.

Bompastor was left with very successful shoes to fill when she took over as Emma Hayes’ successor, but the French boss is yet to miss a game. Chelsea now enter the halfway point of the season unbeaten and with 31 points to their name.

At this stage, it may take a miracle if another team is to knock them out of contention for a sixth consecutive WSL title.

It’s a remarkable statistic when you realize that United, Arsenal and Chelsea have scored more goals in Matchday 11 than Leicester City have all season. Another narrow 1-0 defeat saw the Foxes bow out in London after an unlucky own goal from goalkeeper Leizig.

Amandine Miquel’s side currently sit 11th in the league table and are just two points clear of Crystal Palace in the drop zone. With the Eagles awaiting the return of their top scorer for 2023/24, Elise Hughes, now is the time for the Foxes to crack.

With several injuries hampering their form, Leicester need to be aggressive in the transfer window to avoid relegation this season. Miquel’s side will be boosted by the return of exciting striker Jutta Rantala, but if injury luck has told us anything, it’s that they can’t rely on one name to save them from the drop.

Defense hasn’t been a glaring issue so far, holding both Chelsea and Arsenal to 1-1 and 1-0 scores, respectively. The team lacks creativity up front and it will be detrimental to their campaign if they don’t find a solution in January.

Olivia Smith signed for Liverpool in the summer of 2024 and quickly proved why she is one of the most exciting prospects in women’s football. The Canadian’s goal against Brighton & Hove Albion was sensational, smoking the Seagulls at pace before burying her strike into the back of the net.

Despite starting the 2023/24 campaign in fourth place, the Reds have had a poor start to the current season. Matt Bird was begging one of his players to show some inspiration and Smith certainly stepped up.

If Beard’s Reds are to break into the top half of the WSL table any time soon, they will be relying on even more magic from Smith.

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