Women’s Super League: talking points from the weekend’s action

Arsenal’s light and shade leave others in the dark

Another week, another convincing win for Arsenal, this time 4-0 at Brighton. They just seem to win all their battles, individually and collectively, and are a level above most of the teams they encounter. The quality and consistency of their play is phenomenal. If you were to paint an abstract picture to illustrate this Arsenal side it would be colourful, it would have energy and there would be light and shade. I love the way their game can be about finding gaps in tight spaces, but sometimes Leah Williamson at centre-half plays a 60-yard diagonal long ball into Vivianne Miedema. You see a real freedom from Joe Montemurro’s players, an ability to express themselves, and it’s a real joy to watch. If you think you can stop them by congesting things in that final third when they have the ball, you can still get caught with a long ball. Lisa Evans, their right-back, has been outstanding, creating and joining attacks. With the title fight still close they know that goal difference could be vital, and this was more evidence of their ruthless streak, always pushing for more. You would expect them to beat Brighton, the only surprise was that Miedema wasn’t on the scoresheet.

Cushing’s departure another signpost for Manchester City

Manchester City beat Everton 3-1 in the first game since the announcement that their manager, Nick Cushing, is to leave to take over at New York City FC in MLS. City are just three points and a goal difference of four behind the league leaders, Arsenal, but it is important to reflect on what Cushing’s departure means in a number of ways. Obviously he is looking for progression after more than six years in charge, but it is also a reflection on a club that does not seem to have the ambition that they used to. Unlike Arsenal, Chelsea and even Manchester United, they aren’t extending their budget to sign the world’s best players. In fact I would say they are overachieving in the league, and that the underlying feeling is that they have stagnated a little bit. They still had too much quality for Everton, who were without their new signing, Izzy Christiansen. The fact that City could bring Tessa Wullaert, a Belgian international with over 80 caps, and Ellen White, the top scorer at the World Cup, off the bench demonstrated the depth they still have. Pauline Bremer, who played at right-back for her last club, Lyon, and has missed most of the last two seasons with injury, is proving a revelation at centre-forward for City, and scored twice. It’s also worth mentioning Jill Scott, an ever-present for City this season and recently named an MBE, a key player for club and country. I don’t know anyone who deserves the honour more.

Chelsea hit the heights in Hayes’s landmark win

Chelsea are the one team that can play football that is at the same level as Arsenal – they just lack the consistency. The 6-1 win over Bristol City was a 200th game in charge for their manager, Emma Hayes – another MBE – and one of their best performances of the season even if they went a goal down early on and it took them until the 28^th minute to draw level. Then it was foot to the floor. City will think the first few goals were all preventable or unlucky: Sophie Baggaley should have claimed the cross from which Beth England equalised, then the second was a big deflection and the third a tap-in after a goalmouth scramble. But in the second half, with Sam Kerr on as a substitute at the break, Chelsea were irresistible. The move for their fifth goal was absolutely beautiful, ending with Guro Reiten’s fantastic low cross from the left and Ji So-yun’s low finish. Ji also played a brilliant through-ball for Kerr, though the Australian’s shot was cleared off the line. If you give Ji time to get her head up and make decisions, she’s unplayable. I don’t believe that Chelsea would have attracted the calibre of player they have in Kerr, Ji and Maren Mjelde – without someone like Hayes at the helm, a coach of the very highest calibre. For Bristol, the 18-year-old striker Ebony Salmon, who scored the only goal against Manchester United last week, was on the scoresheet again and continues to look promising.

Reading’s rise pushes Birmingham towards danger

Reading got their second clean sheet of the season, and their first since September, in a 1-0 win over Birmingham. Given their inconsistency, they would have been delighted not only with the victory but to have a clean 1-0, a welcome novelty for them. The result catapulted them up to fourth, though they are a long way behind third-placed Chelsea, and knocked Birmingham into danger territory. After seven defeats in their last 10 league games Birmingham only have seven points, and with bottom club Liverpool – whose game against Manchester United was postponed because of a waterlogged pitch – looking refreshed and with a good new signing in Rachel Furness, it would only take a couple of results to put them in real peril. Birmingham are a club whose star players – the likes of Ellen White, Karen Carney and Ann-Katrin Berger – never hang around. They were the best of the rest for a few years but now that status has slipped and the danger signs are starting to flash.

Character and confidence earn reward for Spurs

After beating West Ham 2-1, Tottenham are fifth, and for me have been one of the stories of the season. I think I tipped them to go down, but they play a really enjoyable brand of attacking football, and I see quality build-up play from them on a regular basis. In the likes of Kit Graham and Rianna Dean they have players who are regularly contributing goals. They will be disappointed to lose Rachel Furness, who has now signed for Liverpool, but in this game they showed real character and proved they can win games without her. Spurs and West Ham have both transformed themselves over the last few years, and this was a good gauge of the progress both teams have made. Spurs ended up with the victory, but it was close: Kenza Dali equalised in the last minute, and deep into stoppage time Tessel Middag had a chance to win it for them. But the keeper saved it, and Spurs just broke. That counter-attack showed what they are about, and Spurs are showing this season what confidence, momentum and good coaching can do for a team. It shows great character to let in a last-minute goal and find a winner and I know what that feels like for a footballer: it’s the best thing in the world.

source: theguardian.com