Resilient City secure statement win
Manchester City’s midfield dominance and defensive consistency proved crucial once more in a statement 1-0 win over Chelsea on Friday night. Much has been rightly made of their forward players but Gareth Taylor’s side demonstrated how mature and resilient they have become. Whether it was Yui Hasegawa’s calm presence in front of the back four, Laura Coombs’ consistency, the strength of the ever-developing centre-back partnership between Alex Greenwood and Laia Aleixandri or the emergence of Jess Park, it was a display that emphasised their position as title contenders. It wasn’t always pretty and they had to dig deep as Chelsea dominated the ball and pushed them back in the second half, but confidence is a powerful tool and once they had their noses in front – perhaps inevitably through a Khadija Shaw goal – they did not wilt under the pressure. The victory was their 11th straight in all competitions, an impressive run that stretches back to November. Sophie Downey
Match report: Chelsea 0-1 Manchester City
Arsenal’s title hopes reignited
Arsenal put themselves back into WSL title contention with a 3-1 win over Manchester United on Saturday. The north London side capitalised on Manchester City’s win against Chelsea to move within three points of the league leaders – and they did so in front of a capacity crowd. A new WSL attendance record was set with 60,160 fans packing Emirates Stadium. Just two weeks ago, following a shock 2-1 defeat to West Ham, many of those supporters lost faith but they are certainly believing now. “People were saying after the West Ham game it was impossible for us to reach the top spot, but if I’m not reading it wrongly here it’s three points with eight games to play. It’s very much a race,” said the Arsenal manager, Jonas Eidevall. “The way I see it, we’ve never been in or out of it. We’ve played one game at a time, we’ve still got to play both teams ahead of us, and that would give us a good opportunity.” Emillia Hawkins
Match report: Arsenal 3-1 Manchester United
Lacasse DOUBLES Arsenal's lead from close range ✅✅ pic.twitter.com/mtepY9XVY7
— Sky Sports WSL (@SkySportsWSL) February 17, 2024
Nobbs’ tenacity and goal key for Villa
Jordan Nobbs’ tenacity was pivotal in Aston Villa’s 2-1 triumph against Tottenham , the 30-year-old orchestrating the tempo and dominating the midfield throughout. And then, with the score 1-1 after an hour, she was positioned strategically on the outskirts of the penalty area following a corner to unleash a powerful first-time shot that found the back of the net. Despite narrowly missing an opportunity to add a second, her impact was undeniable, earning Villa a significant victory. “As a midfielder, you always want those balls to roll back to you,” she said of her goal. “Naturally, my instinct is to hit it. I should have had two today, really, but we got the win.” Her winner leaves Villa in eighth place, three points shy of the sixth-place finish targeted by their manager, Carla Ward. Emily Keogh
Bristol City succumb to pressure
The margin between Leicester , who were promoted in 2022, and Bristol City, the WSL’s most recent arrivals, proved considerable in a seven-goal spectacle. Despite taking a 1-0 lead in the 20th minute through Ffion Morgan, Bristol City found themselves overwhelmed by the hosts’ consistent pressure in the second half, ultimately suffering a 5-2 defeat at the King Power Stadium. The result leaves Bristol City languishing at the bottom of the table with only six points, five adrift of their relegation rivals Brighton and West Ham. On Sunday they were not able to contend with Leicester’s dominance in the final third – as evidenced by the 30 shots they faced, 10 of which were on target. “Ultimately, our defensive display didn’t handle their attacking one today,” the Bristol City manager, Lauren Smith, said. “[It] feels quite tough right now, knowing that we were in the game twice. We need to focus on the next one and pack it away and make sure that we’re better next time.” EK
Eventful afternoon for Holland
Ceri Holland was at the centre of the action in Liverpool’s 1-0 win at Brighton. The Welsh midfielder scored the only goal of the game early in the second half, pouncing on a misplaced pass by the opposing goalkeeper Sophie Baggaley after Mikey Harris’ side tried and failed to play out from the back, to send a cool finish into the bottom left-hand corner. And Holland found herself involved again in injury time, receiving a second yellow card for a foul on Julia Zigiotti Olme in the 94th minute. Speaking after the match, Liverpool’s manager, Matt Beard, said: “I just think the referee needs to understand the state of the game on that second one. There was no malice in the tackle.” Either way, Liverpool were good value for their victory as Brighton struggled to test Rachael Laws in the second half. Xaymaca Awoyungbo
"A gift for Liverpool" 🎁
— Sky Sports WSL (@SkySportsWSL) February 18, 2024
Holland breaks the deadlock 🔓 pic.twitter.com/uzwNdpjxW8
Everton win marred by Olesen injury
Before the visit of West Ham, Everton were on the longest WSL losing-streak in their history – four games in a row – and had not kept a clean sheet at home in the league since January 2023. On Sunday they managed to break both those sequences but the manager, Brian Sørensen, had to wait until the last 10 minutes before goals from Martina Piemonte and Aurora Galli sealed a 2-0 victory that moved the team up to ninth. Sadly the win was overshadowed by a serious injury to Karoline Olesen, who was taken off on a stretcher. “It is a bad one,” Sørensen told the BBC. “It’s not a broken leg, which we thought at the beginning [but] she’s not very well. It looks like the quad muscle was not attached. It doesn’t look very good. It’s a big injury.” Marcus Christenson
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chelsea Women | 14 | 28 | 34 |
| 2 | Man City Women | 14 | 28 | 34 |
| 3 | Arsenal Women | 14 | 18 | 31 |
| 4 | Man Utd Women | 14 | 13 | 24 |
| 5 | Liverpool FC Women | 14 | -1 | 22 |
| 6 | Tottenham Hotspur Women | 14 | -7 | 19 |
| 7 | Leicester Women | 14 | -5 | 16 |
| 8 | Aston Villa Women | 14 | -9 | 16 |
| 9 | Everton Women | 14 | -13 | 14 |
| 10 | West Ham Women | 14 | -14 | 11 |
| 11 | Brighton & Hove Albion Women | 14 | -17 | 11 |
| 12 | Bristol City Women | 14 | -21 | 6 |
